Δευτέρα 7 Νοεμβρίου 2011
Breaking News :
A Los Angeles jury found Conrad Murray, the physician accused of
involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of Michael Jackson, guilty on
Monday.
The jury, made up of five men and seven women, deliberated for about
eight hours between Friday and Monday after hearing closing arguments
from the prosecution and defense throughout the day on Nov. 3 in the Los
Angeles County Superior Court.
Murray, 58, sat stoically while the verdict was read. His lead
attorney, Ed Chernoff, who came to Los Angeles from Houston to defend
him, looked sullen and frustrated. After the announcement, dismissal of
the jury and queries on sentencing to the defense, Murray was remanded
and denied bail. Sentencing was set for Nov. 29.
The six-week trial hinged largely on scientific demonstrations and
the testimonies of two well-regarded anesthesiologists, Dr. Steven
Shafer and Dr. Paul White. Both are highly published and sought-after
lecturers and experts on the anesthetic propofol. They were on opposite
sides when it came to determining whether Murray was negligent by
leaving Jackson’s bedside after he gave him an injection of the drug and
by failing to immediately call 911 when he returned to discover that
Jackson was not breathing.
An autopsy found that Jackson was killed by an overdose of the drug.
Defense lawyers argued that Murray’s carelessness caused a lethal amount
of it to seep into Jackson’s system. Murray admitted to giving propofol
to Jackson but said he was trying to wean him off it because he feared
the pop singer was becoming addicted. Meanwhile, Murray’s defense
countered that Jackson could have taken the drug while Murray was out of
the bedroom. White himself said on the stand that Jackson, desperate
for sleep in preparation for his comeback This Is It tour, may have
injected himself with the drug, causing his own death.
Others, including Jackson’s bodyguard, nurse and people involved with
the launch of the tour, were also called to the stand. Murray told
Judge Michael Pastor that he would not testify in his own defense.
Loyola Law School Los Angeles Professor Stan Goldman, who has been
monitoring the trial from the beginning, said the verdict came as no
surprise given the strength of the prosecution’s case.
“I think it would have been a shocker if this hadn’t happened,” he
explained. “Conrad Murray’s criminal negligence was pretty obvious once
the trial got going.”
He continued, “The prosecution’s case was pretty overwhelming. The
best argument the defense had was one they couldn’t make: that Michael
Jackson wanted this particular doctor to give him this powerful sleep
medication. The only chance the defense had was to prove that Jackson
caused his own death.”
With the guilty verdict, Murray could face four years behind bars and the loss of his medical license.
Michael Jackson's doctor found guilty of involuntary manslaughter
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