A jury in California has found Michael Jackson's personal physician, guilty of involuntary manslaughter arising from the death of the pop star in 2009. The doctor, Conrad Murray, is due to be sentenced later this month.
Prosecutors alleged that the doctor had behaved in a criminally negligent manner by giving the pop star a powerful dose of the sedative propofol as a sleeping aid. The jury deliberated for less than two days before reaching its verdict. According to jurors, who have been talking to the media since the verdict, the three main factors that contributed to the guilty verdict were:
- The fact that the doctor failed to call 911 immediately after the singer collapsed;
- The lack of medical equipment in the room where the singer was sedated; and
- The fact that the doctor left the room after administering the propofol.
Prosecutors alleged that Murray had administered a powerful dose of propofol to the pop star to help him sleep in preparation for a comeback tour without taking proper safeguards. Jackson collapsed and died soon after he received the propofol injections. Murray claimed that he administered only a small dose to the singer on the day he died. His defense attorneys unsuccessfully tried to argue that the death was the result of Jackson's own insistence on injecting himself with a lethal dose of the sedative while the doctor was out of the room.
The New Jersey criminal defense lawyers at Helmer Paul Conley and Kasselman represent persons charged with DUI, drug crimes, sex crimes, fraud, assault, murder and other crimes across New Jersey.
