champion? ministering? what the f is jesse doing ?

Jurors in the star's molestation trial left in two white vans, after a six-hour day locked in a windowless room in the Santa Maria courthouse, which is besieged by a huge media pack and worldwide fans of the 'King of Pop.'

A sense of suppressed anticipation cloaked the courthouse all day, as deliberations between the eight women and four men aged between 20 and 79 ground to the 14-hour mark, with no sign of a resolution.

Jackson, nursing a back injury, endured a nerve-jangling wait inside the gates of his fantasy filled Neverland ranch, a half-hour drive from the court.

"Michael is resting comfortably in the ranch," said Reverend Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader who is ministering to the rattled star."Michael anxiously awaits the jury's verdict, and anticipates the acquittal," Jackson said, describing the star as a "champion."

"The ground is no place for a champion. A champion fights back. Michael is fighting back."