US: Two of the 12 jurors who acquitted Michael Jackson of child molestation charges have now said pressure was put on them to do so by other jurors and they now regret their decisions.
Eleanor Cook and Ray Hultman made their disclosures to interviewer Rita Cosby on a US news station, MSNBC.
"People just wouldn't take their blinders off long enough to really look at all the evidence that was there," said Mr Hultman (62) of Santa Maria, California.
Like a number of other jurors, both Mr Hultman and Ms Cook (79) are planning to write books about their five months on the high-profile case. Ms Cook's will be titled Guilty as Sin, Free as a Bird and Mr Hultman's The Deliberator, according to Larry Garrison, who said he would help co-write both projects.
Asked by Cosby whether Monday's revelations were motivated by money, both said no. "I'm speaking out now because I believe it's never too late to tell the truth," Ms Cook said.
Jackson was acquitted in June of 14 counts alleging that he molested a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley. His lead defence attorney, Thomas A Mesereau jnr, discounted the jurors' interview.
"These people voted not guilty 14 times," said Mr Mesereau, who also appeared on Cosby's show. "Now, nearly two months after being discharged, they're changing their tune. I think it's laughable."
Santa Barbara County district attorney Tom Sneddon said he was not watching the show and would have no comment on what the jurors were saying. "It's over with, it isn't going to make any difference what I say or what I feel."
Prosecutors cannot appeal the acquittal, and overturning one is virtually impossible under the law.
The jurors' contention that they were coerced to vote not guilty was disputed by fellow panellist Susan Drake (51) who said Mr Hultman and Ms Cook "were clear in expressing their feeling he might be guilty, but totally clear that the evidence wasn't there and reasonable doubt prevailed."
She said discussions in the jury room were thoughtful and courteous, hardly the intimidating environment her colleagues discussed on television.
In their TV appearance, Mr Hultman and Ms Cook both tried to distance themselves from the jury's decision to find Jackson not guilty, which was reached after more than six day. "They're the ones that let a paedophile go," Ms Cook said. "We didn't."
Mr Hultman speculated that a number of witnesses who offered testimony favourable to Jackson were paid off or otherwise influenced improperly - an allegation Mr Mesereau vigorously denied.
After the verdict, all 12 jurors and eight alternates appeared at a lengthy news conference, giving the impression of people who respected one another and who had worked out their differences in a mature way.
The reality was far different, however, according to Mr Hultman and Ms Cook. When the group finally arrived at its verdict, Ms Cook said: "the air reeked of hatred. And people were angry. I just felt that they could turn on me any minute and there wasn't anything I could do about it." - (Los Angeles Times-Washington Post service)