Why Did Michael Jackson Settle?

In 1994 after an ongoing investigation of child abuse on his part, Michael Jackson agreed to settle with the accusing family for millions of dollars. Many see this as an admission of guilt, but there is more to it than what it seems. If you are not familiar with the 1993 allegations refer to this article. 

When Michael Jackson first learned of the seriousness of what he was being accused of, one can imagine that the emotion toll would be very great. At this time, mentally, Michael was not up to par. Michael was going through an addiction to prescription pain medication at the time and even spent time in a rehabilitation clinic. So while his state of mind isn't as clear as it could have been, he's also seeing all these other people coming forward with unfounded allegations and people slandering his name left and right.

Let's remember that at this time Michael Jackson had never been in trouble with the law, he had never been subjected to all the procedures that have to be taken when you are facing criminal allegations. All of this is new to him, and to say the least, probably terrifying.

Michael had to agree to participate in a strip search conducted by the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Department. In this strip search the authorities were allowed to photograph Michael naked, taking pictures of areas that they thought were relevant to their investigation. The accuser had described Michael's genitals in detail and they were trying to corroborate his description with pictures. Michael was told that if he refused to take these pictures, which he could have, then they would use that as an indication of his guilt if it ever went to trial. So with this in mind, Michael agreed. The search was completely humiliating for Michael, having men that were probably much older than him, photograph him naked. After the strip search, they still weren't satisfied and asked for more pictures.

Things just kept getting worse. 

Latoya Jackson, Michael's older sister, held a press conference saying that she was witness to Michael's crimes. Latoya said she felt that she no longer could stay silent and that Michael was in fact guilty of pedophilia. (Latoya, who at the time was also going through problems, has since recanted her claims and stands by Michael) This received much attention and caused the public to doubt Michael even more. The family support that Michael had been getting at that time wasn't as strong as it should have been. Michael had to find counsel in the few reliable friends that he knew he could trust.

Michael's and his lawyers knew from the start that this was an extortion attempt by Evan Chandler, the accusers father. Michael says that he asked his lawyers if he could be guaranteed justice and exoneration. Bluntly, they told him no. (lawyers are supposed to instill confidence in their clients) So the sense of fear and pressure that Michael was enduring had become he stronger.

Michael knew what Evan Chandler wanted, so reluctantly he agreed to a settlement. By agreeing to this settlement BOTH parties were 'admitting' to neglect, not any kind of sexual abuse. After it was signed the allegations went away and the accusers backed off (with the exception of Evan Chandler suing again for more money), just as Michael wanted. Michael wanted to get back to his life and just make it disappear.

The many people that point the finger at Michael for settling also fail to recognize something that is extremely obvious. Why did the accusing family agree? It's just as bad as Michael settling. Why would you agree to let the man that molested your son free? Michael Jackson is one of the most famous people in the world, this means they would see him on television with more children. You are putting other children in that kind of danger for what? Because the money was just too much for you to refuse? You will live your life knowing that the expensive house that you live in and the expensive car that you drive was funded by the man that molested you? What parent wouldn't want to see the man that did this to their child behind bars? Especially after hearing in detail what actually happened. I just can't think of any reason for why they felt the need to accept other than the fact that they couldn't resist the amount of money they would receive. Now we hear from the uncle of the accuser, Raymond Chandler, saying that they were scared because they weren't granted witness protection. Really? Then press further and call for other assistance, there is no law enforcement that would deny a family especially in a high profile case, witness protection. Since then  Michael Jackson has been accused again and the accusing family has the same prosecution team on their side, they have witness protection.

To many people the settlement is an admission of guilt, it's very easy to see it that way. But with all that he was facing and trying to deal with mentally, Michael felt he couldn't handle it. Of course now he regrets it. This time around Michael has the family support that he needs and he has great lawyers that instill the confidence that he needs in him. This time he won't settle, this time he's stronger.