Jackson Free Press

Like most Jacksonians, I have been following the ever-evolving Frank Melton case. And like many, I was frustrated beyond belief when the recent case ended in a mistrial. I thought Melton and his cohorts would easily be found guilty. Instead, he slipped away once again, albeit temporarily.

In the week following the disappointing mistrial, I mulled over the details of the case and the previous state-level trial, thinking of the delays, the health problems, the strange defense tactics, and all the other ways Frank Melton has managed to squeak by and seemingly get away with it all. It reminded me of someone else, but who?

Driving to Oxford a few days later, it hit me: Michael Jackson. Melton's antics and bewildering untouchability reminded me of the three-ring circus that was Michael Jackson's trial back in 2005. Remember that? The never-never-ending debacle where a parent accused MJ of molesting a 13-year-old boy and conspiring to commit child abduction, among other allegations? Of course, the charges in these two cases are completely different. But the sideshow-quality behavior and inexplicable ability to evade justice are definitely on both sides.

First, there are the questionable relationships with young boys. Michael invites them to sleepovers; Frank invites them to live in his home and go on midnight raids with him. Michael's young cohorts get to drink the "Jesus Juice," but Frank kept it for himself. Then there are the mysterious health issues that suddenly arise whenever trouble comes a-knockin'. Granted, Frank Melton's health issues appear to be real, and not surprising when his lifestyle is taken into consideration, but it was quite convenient that he got heart problems checked out in the middle of his trial. Michael Jackson developed the flu and went into the hospital, also delaying his trial.

Michael Jackson crept into our good graces early on, first as the youngest of the Jackson 5, then with his own stellar pop-music career in the '80s and '90s. Frank Melton crept into Jackson, Miss., from Texas in the early '80s and into the homes of Jacksonians via his "Bottom Line" segments on WLBT. Perhaps Jackson's "King of Pop" status made it so hard for some to believe that he could be accused of child molestation. Frank Melton had the trust of Jackson voters in 2005, making for a slam-dunk election win. But before long, Melton's behavior turned as bizarre as if he had opened his own "Neverland Ranch." Pulling over a school bus for hugs, driving all over town in a glorified Popemobile (when gas prices were at their highest), and the final coup de grace, taking sledgehammers to a home rented by a mentally ill man, Scotch-and-water mixture and impressionable young men in tow—and all in the name of "crime-fighting."

How could the man who seemed to have all the answers in the "Bottom Line" segments abuse his power in such a reckless manner?

In both instances, these men revealed themselves to be very different from the images they originally projected. We all knew something was up with MJ when he started collecting exotic animals and plastic-surgery scars, and then hanging out with Macaulay Culkin a little too much. Perhaps the allegations against Jackson should not have been so surprising after all. With Frank Melton, it turns out that all one had to do was a tiny bit of digging to find out that he was not as well-put-together as he appeared on television. Once the truth about both characters came out into the open, it seemed highly unlikely that either of them would get away with a "not guilty" verdict.

A jury declared Michael Jackson "not guilty" in June 2005, and the pop star subsequently moved to Bahrain. Despite his ability to bask in such a luxurious setting, Jackson soon found himself in financial trouble, and he sold Neverland Ranch as a result. A jury declared Frank Melton "not guilty" in 2007, and then he was indicted and tried by the federal government in 2009, ending in a mistrial. Melton has also had financial difficulties, falling behind on his property taxes.

I still have faith in the judicial system, and I hope that Melton's second trial will have a different outcome. But the real question is: No matter what happens, how do we get Frank to move to Dubai?