'The Lie Didn't Stick'

"We always said that Michael was 1,000 percent innocent," brother Jermaine Jackson told The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen during a phone interview.

After hearing the testimonies from the prosecution, Jermaine Jackson said he believed his brother would be acquitted.

He explained, "Just seeing how they tore them apart on their witnesses and how our witnesses came up, and they didn't do that to us. Because like I've been saying all along: It takes one to tell the truth. And when you look at how many it took to put together this lie, but the lie didn't stick, because everybody had different stories. That's what it is."

Though he credits Tom Meserau's work for the favorable verdict, Jermaine Jackson pointed out what got his brother off was his innocence.

"He was never in any danger, but at the same time, we live in a system today that really needs to be looked at," Jermaine Jackson noted. "The criminal justice system needs to be looked at. They need to evaluate one's character. This was nothing but a personal vendetta against my brother. And at the same time, you have the reporters reporting one sided; then, all of a sudden, they feel, 'Let's take a poll.' It is totally unfair, totally unfair. It's ridiculous."

Now the Jackson family is rejoicing. "He was very, very happy. He finally smiled," Jermaine Jackson said recalling the first time he saw his brother after the verdict.

Jermaine Jackson said, "He was just so beat up for so long, for just to sit there and hear things said about you that you know are totally false, and then, to have to go through this. I thought it was mud slinging.

"The bottom line is, we're five guys from Indiana who worked hard all our lives. We gained success. Something like this happened, which was really bad because I felt that it should be a better evaluation of one's character when you look at the people who were in authority - you know, the prosecution side. Because this is just not right to go through a witch hunt like this, and then with these false accusations for the whole world just to hear this mess. This is 2005. How could this happen?"

Jermaine Jackson was not with his brother when the not guilty verdicts were read. He says he was upstairs with his sister, Janet, because only six family members were allowed in the courtroom throughout the trial.

But he said, "I heard a lot of cheering outside. Then I walked over to the window upstairs. And I heard during each moment there was a dove released into the air. And I guess what they were doing for each count, they released a dove, which was beautiful. But they were all not guilty. And my family was very excited."

The courtroom was deathly still as the verdicts were read. Jackson, as motionless as he had been throughout the trial, only dabbed at his eyes with a tissue. When it was over, Jackson stood and was embraced by his lawyers, Thomas Mesereau Jr. and Susan Yu.

Jackson's parents, Katherine and Joe Jackson, sisters LaToya and Rebbie, and brothers Randy and Jackie all looked on. His father helped guide him out of the courthouse.

At the beginning of the interview, Jermaine Jackson thanked God for the outcome, calling him "the gracious and the merciful and the master of the Day of Judgment."