Since the jury deliberated less than a full day it’s plain the prosecution couldn’t make its case. And as Hitsville said all along, you can’t go wrong betting that the rich guy gets off.

Still, from reading the local accounts of the defense’s case—and particularly its closing arguments, in which the main Kelly attorney thundered to the jury that convicting Kelly would be calling the poor girl in the video “a whore”—you had the overwhelming sense of a Keystone Kops operation.

This impression turned out not be accurate.

(Story links as they come up will be posted below. In the meantime, I’ll keep adding to analysis.)

The most devastating thing about the verdict seems to have been its quickness. Assuming that there was method to the Kelly defense’s madness, it seems as though they were not pursuing a hung jury, and appealing to the one or two craziest people empaneled. Rather, it seems to have been the equivalent of a “fifty state strategy,” and running the table by attacking every bit of the prosecution’s case.

Indeed, the Trib is now reporting that the initial juror vote was lopsided:

The initial vote after the case went to the jury was 10-2 in favor of acquittal. Subsequent votes during “heated but civil” deliberations moved back and forth, but never very far. A white female juror said the jurors shared opinions, but never saw anything conclusive.

“And at some point we said there was a lack of evidence,” the woman said. “There was nothing concrete enough to say it was him or her on that tape.”

From the outside, it all seemed preposterous. But, in the end, inside the jury room, we have to assume, there was simply not a significant core of people arguing that Kelly was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

From the coverage available to most of us, it seems the most likely weak link was the age of the girl; it could be the jury accepted that the man was Kelly but that doubt existed about the girl, particularly since the defense produced three people that swore it wasn’t she.

Kelly now is free to go back to his old lifestyle, barring Cook County’s finding the girl who was on one of the other Kelly sex tapes floating around who hasn’t been identified yet. As Hitsville has noted before, there have been reports of at least five bits of film floating around that purportedly show Kelly and various young girls having sex.

The piquant reaction USA Today found from the “entertainment director” of Essence magazine Kelly’s prosecution is just another example of how the focus of the scandal on Kelly, rather than on the large number of young girls he’s been accused of molesting, has worked to the singer’s benefit. Here’s Kelefa Sanneh, in the NYT, writing about Kelly two years ago:

Mr. Kelly, the legendarily freaky R&B star, long ago established himself as one of the greatest singer-songwriters of his generation. The sex scandal that threatened to derail his career in 2002 ended up doing the opposite: it made him more productive, more successful and, somehow—maybe because more people began paying attention to his excellent music—more respected than ever before.

______________

This guy has it down.

The Sun-Times’ story is now up:

As the first “not guilty” was read, R. Kelly dipped his head and kept it bowed during the entire reading of the 14-count verdict.

When the reading was completed, he dabbed his face with a baby blue handkerchief from his pocket as tears streamed down his face.

He then bear-hugged defense attorneys Sam Adam Jr. and Ed Genson.

More:

R. Kelly left courthouse to a huge roar from about 75 supporters.

“I love him!” one woman shouted. “I love him! Get that on camera!”

He did not comment to reporters.

A scene from the S-T’s always updating story. Note the subtle decision not to alter the speakers’ speaking style:

Outside the courthouse, Chicago’s Leshi Agee, 25, shouted, “We love you!” to the singer, then said “He looks so good. Bye, baby.”

Agee, who came with her three children between the ages of 10 months and five years, said, “I knew he ain’t done it because he ain’t that type of person. They was hating on him. He proved everybody wrong.”

Fourteen-year-old Kewan Mackey said, “I knew he ain’t do it. I knew he was going to win. Money makes the world go around.”

The Chicago Tribune:

“R Kelly was found not guilty because they had the best jury that Cook County could produce,” said Kelly’s attorney Sam Adam Jr. “Two things happened today. R. Kelly got his name back and [his goddaughter] never had to lose hers,” Adam said.

More:

As the verdicts kept coming in, each count not guilty, Adam said he heard Kelly saying “Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.”

Kelly left the courtroom surrounded by his entourage, who kept reporters away from the singer and escorted him to a waiting sport-utility vehicle as some 50 supporters cheered him. Though Kelly did not speak to reporters, he did salute and wave to fans.

Allan Mayer, a Kelly spokesman, said, “Robert has asked me to speak on his behalf for now. Robert has said all along that he believes in our system, and he believes in God. And that when all the facts came out in court, he’d be cleared of these terrible charges.

“He did not expect that it would take 6 ½ years. It’s been a terrible ordeal for him and his family, and at this point all he wants to do is move forward and try to put it behind him. He wants to thank his lawyers who defended him so brilliantly. He wants to thank his fans who stuck by him and supported him with such love.

The Daily Swarm, earlier today before the verdict, had noted this oddly dispassionate analysis of the situation from a couple of industry people quoted in USA Today:

The trial “really hasn’t had an adverse affect so far,” says Chuck Creekmur, CEO of the news site allhiphop.com. “At first, I thought the accusations would be a death knell for his career, but it goes to show just how loyal some fans can be.”

Those fans are torn between giving him the benefit of the doubt and being turned off by the nature of the charges, says Cori Murray, entertainment director of Essence magazine.

“A lot of people feel he shouldn’t be judged,” Murray says. “There’s a feeling in the (African-American) community that we don’t like to air our dirty laundry, that black men in general are persecuted.”

A guilty verdict wouldn’t necessarily damage Kelly’s reputation. “An actual conviction won’t change people’s opinions,” Creekmur says. “In the court of public opinion, he’s already guilty or innocent.”

Kelly’s music output could continue at the same pace, too. “You see it a lot in hip-hop,” Creekmur says. “Somebody gets accused, and they record a ton of product so that things can keep coming out even when they’re locked up.

“R. Kelly has shown that work ethic and seems to have a Midas touch. He would probably move units even from jail.”

———–

Earlier in Hitsville:

The world’s weirdest defense summation

Everything you need to know about the R. Kelly case

R. Kelly Sexfacts™ IV: The Quantum of Solace! The complete prosecution case!

The Godfather Who Shagged Me: The complete R. Kelly SexFacts™, Parts I, II & III—Every barfy thing you ever wanted to know about the origins of the R. Kelly case

Targeting Jim DeRogatis—literally

More on L’affaire DeRogatis

The DeRogatis ruling

Bad craziness at the R. Kelly trial?

At the R. Kelly trial, they do things they don’t do on Broadway!

Ever hear the one about the guy convicted of murdering his parents who asked for mercy because he was a orphan?

The NYT and R. Kelly: Curiouser and curiouser

The NYT finally notices R. Kelly isn’t a nice guy

R. Kelly and the NYT: The Freaky Defense

Tribune, Sun-Times protest closed hearings in R. Kelly case

Secret hearings in the R. Kelly case

R. Kelly’s Publicist: He slept with my daughter!