Michael Jackson Trial: Who's Involved?
Dr. Conrad Murray, charged with involuntarily killing Michael Jackson, has been defended as innocent during his trial Tuesday.
In the high-profile case, the prosecution is trying to convince the jury that it was Murray’s “gross negligence” in treating Jackson with numerous drugs that killed the superstar.
Murray treated Jackson’s insomnia with sedatives, and on the night of June 25, 2009, high levels of numerous medications caused the singer’s death.
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Listening to the case is Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor. Monday, he denied the prosecution entering Jackson’s final press conference as evidence of Murray’s treatment of the patient.
Also, Judge Pastor ruled against the prosecution entering evidence that police unsuccessfully tried to follow up Murray after Jackson’s death.
Murray’s defense attorney Ed Chernoff claims that his client was trying to wean Jackson off of propofol, the sedative of choice for the singer, and that Jackson gave himself an extra dose after Murray left the room.
Chernoff told the jury that Jackson was killed so fast that he “didn’t even have time to close his eyes.”
Serving as prosecutor is Deputy District Attorney David Walgren, who told members of the jury he would describe Jackson’s final hours in great detail.
After showing an image of Jackson’s corpse, Walgren said, “What you will learn through this evidence is that what happened during that time frame is that the acts and omissions of Michael Jackson’s personal doctor, Conrad Murray, directly led to his premature death at the age of 50.”
Murray was contacted to treat one of Jackson’s children for an unknown medical situation in 2006. The two became friends, and the singer offered Murray a full time position to be his personal physician while on tour in 2009, for a reported $150,000 per month.
The arrangement was speculated to be the result of Jackson’s dependence on drugs and inability to sleep. Following Jackson’s death, police investigators found over 20 different prescriptions inside his rented Holmby Hills home, including methadone, fentanyl, Percocet, dalaudid, and vicodin.
Conrad Murray’s trial began September 8 and the jury will likely take several months to decide a verdict. The physician pleads not guilty, and if convicted, he faces a maximum of four years in prison and will likely never be able to practice medicine again
