Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray guilty of manslaughter
Dr. Murray now faces up to four years in prison and the suspension of his medical license.
By Adewaleconcept Nov 08, 2011 - 12:41am WAT
Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, has
been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The Texas physician who
administered a powerful surgical anaesthetic to Michael Jackson hours
before his death in 2009 was convicted of involuntary manslaughter today
following a six-week trial in which he was slammed for his
"unconscionable" professional behaviour and neglect of his celebrity
patient. The jury deliberated for six hours on Friday then two hours on
Monday before returning their unanimous verdict against Dr Conrad
Murray. He now faces up to four years in prison and the suspension of
his medical license.
Murray showed no emotion as the verdict was read. The news was greeted with enthusiasm by a noisy group of Jackson supporters outside the courthouse who spent the morning chanting "Justice for Michael!" and "Find Conrad Murray Guilty!", some waving banners praising Jesus
During the trial, the jury heard how Murray abandoned his practice to work exclusively for Jackson for $150,000 per month, how he ordered gallons of the surgical anaesthetic propofol in response to Jackson's complaints about insomnia as he was preparing for a new world tour, how Murray administered propofol on the morning of Jackson's death and – according to the prosecution – was directly responsible for delivering the final, lethal dose.
Murray's defence lawyers tried to argue that it was Jackson himself, not Murray, who administered the last injection and that the Jackson family, the prosecution and the public at large had been over-anxious to find someone on whom to pin blame for the star's self-inflicted death.
"If it were anybody else but Michael Jackson, would this doctor be here today?" Murray's lead lawyer, Ed Chernoff, asked in his summing up.
The jury's answer to that question was, apparently, yes; that Murray had behaved in ways no doctor should ever behave. The defence did not dispute that Murray was responsible for propofol being in Jackson's home. And they did not dispute that Murray left Jackson alone after administering a dose of it on the morning of his death – even though standard medical practice insists on an anaesthesiologist or qualified technician remaining at the patient's side at all times.
David Walgren, the lead prosecutor, argued that Murray was criminally responsible for Jackson's death, whether or not the jury believed the story about Jackson grabbing a syringe and essentially killing himself. Just getting him close enough to propofol and giving him the opportunity to take it unsupervised, he said, constituted involuntary manslaughter on its own. He called it an "obscene experiment".
"This is bizarre, unethical, unconscionable behaviour," he said in his own closing statement. "Michael Jackson trusted Conrad Murray. He trusted him with his life; he paid with his life."
Walgren highlighted the many inconsistencies in Murray's public statements, the fact that it took him two days to acknowledge to police that he had administered propofol, the delay in calling emergency services after Jackson's lifeless body was discovered on his bed and other damning details. "Conrad Murray did not call 911 because he had other things on his mind – to protect Conrad Murray," Walgren charged.
Ultimately, though, the trial revolved around the testimony of just one witness, the research anaesthesiologist Paul White, who testified that he found the defence's theory persuasive. Intriguingly, that put him directly at odds with a colleague and former student, Steve Shafer, who was the government's star expert witness and asserted that the "only scenario" accounting for Jackson's death was that Murray put him on an intravenous propofol drip which was then dismantled before the cops arrived.
Murray showed no emotion as the verdict was read. The news was greeted with enthusiasm by a noisy group of Jackson supporters outside the courthouse who spent the morning chanting "Justice for Michael!" and "Find Conrad Murray Guilty!", some waving banners praising Jesus
During the trial, the jury heard how Murray abandoned his practice to work exclusively for Jackson for $150,000 per month, how he ordered gallons of the surgical anaesthetic propofol in response to Jackson's complaints about insomnia as he was preparing for a new world tour, how Murray administered propofol on the morning of Jackson's death and – according to the prosecution – was directly responsible for delivering the final, lethal dose.
Murray's defence lawyers tried to argue that it was Jackson himself, not Murray, who administered the last injection and that the Jackson family, the prosecution and the public at large had been over-anxious to find someone on whom to pin blame for the star's self-inflicted death.
"If it were anybody else but Michael Jackson, would this doctor be here today?" Murray's lead lawyer, Ed Chernoff, asked in his summing up.
The jury's answer to that question was, apparently, yes; that Murray had behaved in ways no doctor should ever behave. The defence did not dispute that Murray was responsible for propofol being in Jackson's home. And they did not dispute that Murray left Jackson alone after administering a dose of it on the morning of his death – even though standard medical practice insists on an anaesthesiologist or qualified technician remaining at the patient's side at all times.
David Walgren, the lead prosecutor, argued that Murray was criminally responsible for Jackson's death, whether or not the jury believed the story about Jackson grabbing a syringe and essentially killing himself. Just getting him close enough to propofol and giving him the opportunity to take it unsupervised, he said, constituted involuntary manslaughter on its own. He called it an "obscene experiment".
"This is bizarre, unethical, unconscionable behaviour," he said in his own closing statement. "Michael Jackson trusted Conrad Murray. He trusted him with his life; he paid with his life."
Walgren highlighted the many inconsistencies in Murray's public statements, the fact that it took him two days to acknowledge to police that he had administered propofol, the delay in calling emergency services after Jackson's lifeless body was discovered on his bed and other damning details. "Conrad Murray did not call 911 because he had other things on his mind – to protect Conrad Murray," Walgren charged.
Ultimately, though, the trial revolved around the testimony of just one witness, the research anaesthesiologist Paul White, who testified that he found the defence's theory persuasive. Intriguingly, that put him directly at odds with a colleague and former student, Steve Shafer, who was the government's star expert witness and asserted that the "only scenario" accounting for Jackson's death was that Murray put him on an intravenous propofol drip which was then dismantled before the cops arrived.
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