Parents dominate make-up of Jackson jury

THE jurors deciding Michael Jackson's fate include eight parents, a man who visited the singer's Neverland ranch, and a woman whose grandson has been convicted of a sex crime.

The panel, whittled down from a pool of 250 prospective jurors, has a retired computer programmer, a horse trainer and a student. Six said they are fans of Jackson's music. The man who said he has been to Jackson's ranch is a 21-year-old who uses a wheelchair and visited with a cerebral palsy group.

The eight men and four women now sit in judgment of a man who could hardly be less like them - a world-travelling entertainer for most of his life who lives on a sprawling estate that has its own amusement park. For three months, the jurors listened silently to testimony and were barred from discussing the case until they received it on Friday. Their deliberations resume today.