Michael Jackson's Doctor Conrad Murray Will Appeal Manslaughter Conviction
Dr. Conrad Murray filed a notice of appeal in the Superior Court of Los Angeles on Friday for his involuntary manslaughter conviction of the death of pop star Michael Jackson.
Murray was sentenced to four years in jail last month after he was found guilty for Michael Jackson’s death in 2009.
The convicted doctor is choosing to represent himself in the appeal, according to the notice.
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Nareg Gourjian, Murray’s defense lawyer, says Murray “disagrees with the jury's findings and the pre-trial rulings made by the court.”
Murray's lawyers have cited that the Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, Michael Pastor, and his pre-trial decisions hindered their defense.
Murray’s lawyers argued that Jackson suffered from sleep deprivation due to financial worries and took the drug that lead to his death, propofol, to put himself to sleep. Judge Michael Pastor did not allow Murray’s lawyers to use evidence from other doctors about the King of Pop’s finances and drug history, including past use of propofol.
During the sentencing, Judge Pastor told Dr. Murray his defense violated the trust between a doctor and patient.
“Michael Jackson died not because of an isolated one-off incident, he died because of a totality of circumstances that are directly attributable to Dr. Murray,” said Judge Pastor. “This is an unacceptable, egregious departure from an accepted standard of care – a disgrace to the medical profession.”
Murray was charged with providing Jackson with the fatal dose of the propofol, a powerful anesthetic often used during surgical procedures.
Murray will most likely serve only two years out of his four year sentence.
