Michael Jackson verdict: Katherine Jackson arrives, greets fans

After about three days of deliberations,
jurors in the Michael Jackson wrongful-
death case have reached a verdict in the
lawsuit brought by Jackson's family against
one of the nation's largest concert
promoters.
The verdict will be read at 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday.
The pop star's mother Katherine Jackson
arrived in the courthouse before 3 p.m.,
shaking hands with fans and dressed in a
white blazer embroidered with flowers.
Someone pushed a folded up wheelchair
behind her.
A handful of fans were also beginning to
gather to hear whether jurors believe that
entertainment giant AEG hired Dr. Conrad
Murray , the Las Vegas physician who
administered a fatal dose of a powerful
anesthetic to Jackson while the
entertainer was in rehearsals for a
planned comeback tour in 2009.
Barbara De Lorry, 42, of Studio City, wore
a black shirt with a picture of Katherine
Jackson. "We support you. #
teamkatherinejackson," the shirt read.
De Lorry said she is anxious about the
verdict and just wants "the truth" to come
out.
“I feel he was the greatest superstar the
world has ever seen. A humanitarin, he
changed the face for music. He changed
the face of dance," she said.
"I feel the reason we don't have him is
because there were people who, when it
came down to it, they didn't do the right
thing."
The 12-person jury was also deciding
whether Jackson's mother and three
children should be awarded economic and
personal damages. An expert for the
family testified that economic damages
should be more than $1 billion. The
attorneys said each of the Jackson
children should be awarded $85 million in
personal damages.
MICHAEL JACKSON: Complete trial
coverage
The jury must answer 16 questions on the
verdict form.
If the jury determines that AEG hired
Murray, they would then have to answer
15 additional questions and decide what
amount of damages to award Jackson’s
mother and children.
The case, which delved into Jackson’s drug
use, his emotional state and his physical
health, never strayed far from the central
question of whether it was the singer
himself who was to blame for his own
demise by insisting on hiring the doctor
who killed him, or AEG for directing and
controlling the physician.
The jury's decision does not need to be
unanimous, with a minimum of nine votes
needed for a verdict. The judge has the
authority to increase or decrease any
damages.

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