MICHAEL JACKSON - ROWE CELEBRATES AS JACKSON WALKS FREE

MICHAEL JACKSON's ex-wife DEBBIE ROWE is thrilled her former husband is a free man after he was acquitted of child molestation yesterday (13MAY05) - even though she testified for the prosecution at his trial.

Speaking through her attorney, Rowe, the mother of two of the pop star's three children, was among a number of high-profile Jackson supporters to issue statements after the singer left the courthouse in Santa Maria, California, where he has spent the last four months fighting for his freedom.

The attorney said, "Debbie is overjoyed that the justice system really works, regardless of which side called her to testify at the trial."

Rowe shocked prosecution lawyers when she tearfully testified on 27 April (05) that she was not pressurised into appearing in a TV documentary praising her ex-husband, despite claims to the contrary.

Jackson's spiritual advisor REVEREND JESSE JACKSON also made statements following the trial, which he called an "excruciating process".

Jackson admitted he hopes the pop superstar learns lessons from the charges and the trial - and perhaps stops his dalliances with young boys.

He said, "I hope that lessons will be learned from this. The healing process must begin and Michael must assess the impact of the very impropriety of these problems that got him into this trouble."

Meanwhile, in a post-trial press conference District Attorney THOMAS SNEDDON insisted he had no regrets about the way the trial panned out - even though he was on the losing side.

He said, "We all did our job. We did it conscientiously."