The trial of Michael Jackson's doctor
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Associated Press coverage of the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson.
LOS ANGELES - The single word, "Guilty," brought a muffled shriek in the gallery of the packed courtroom and tears from Michael Jackson's family, but no reaction from the doctor convicted of supplying the King of Pop with the drug he craved for sleep.
With the snap of handcuffs, another chapter in the bizarre saga surrounding Mr. Jackson's life came to a close, and the man who once envisioned a glamorous career as the music icon's personal physician was led from the courtroom. Dr. Conrad Murray was going to jail for involuntary manslaughter.
Dr. Murray's face was grim but betrayed no emotion. In a few minutes, his life had been shattered and it was likely he would never practice medicine again.
It was a precipitous fall for a man who told his patients he had been given "a once in a lifetime opportunity" for which he was giving up his practice. At 58, he planned to devote himself to one patient, Mr. Jackson, who would escort him into a world of glamor and celebrity. They were going to London for Mr. Jackson's spectacular comeback concerts.
All of that ended on June 25, 2009, in a Holmby Hills mansion where he gave his difficult patient what he wanted -- an operating room anesthetic that Mr. Jackson called his "milk," the only thing the singer trusted to put him to sleep.
Now Dr. Murray faces up to four years in prison, although overcrowding makes it unlikely he'll serve that long.
Jurors heard hours of testimony about propofol, the drug that killed Mr. Jackson, and they listened while defense attorneys blamed the singer for his own death, suggesting it was he, not Dr. Murray, who injected the fatal dose.
Did they believe that? Jurors weren't saying. In fact, they said nothing after their verdict. But they didn't have to find that Dr. Murray administered the dose that killed Mr. Jackson, only that the doctor was primarily responsible for the singer's death.
Their deliberations were short, less than nine hours over two days, presided over by the foreman, a 45-year-old management consultant who had previously been a classical musician and had served on a jury before.
Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor praised the panel's dedication and was harsh in his comments about Dr. Murray after the jury left the room.
"This is a crime where the end result (was) the death of a human being," the judge said. "Dr. Dr. Murray's reckless conduct in this case poses a demonstrable risk to the safety of the public" if he remains free on bond, the judge said.
He then ordered Dr. Murray taken into immediate custody and held without bail pending sentencing Nov. 29.
Prosecutors will address whether Dr. Murray should pay restitution at a later hearing and the physician is being pursued by Mr. Jackson's father in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Defense attorney Ed Chernoff said the verdict was a disappointment and would be appealed. Asked how Dr. Murray took the verdict, Chernoff said, "he's a pretty strong guy."
Regarding Dr. Murray's future, he said, "the keys to his handcuffs belong to the judge. We certainly would like to do anything we can to keep him from going to prison."
In post-verdict comments to the media, District Attorney Steve Cooley praised the verdict but suggested a recent change in state law might make it difficult to keep Dr. Murray behind bars because non-violent felony offenders are being sentenced to overcrowded county jails and being released early.
Despite six weeks of testimony and hundreds of pieces of evidence, precisely what happened in Mr. Jackson's bedroom in the hours before his death remains unknown. Dr. Murray offered an account to police two days after Mr. Jackson's death, but prosecutors said the doctor's version wasn't consistent with the amounts of propofol found in Mr. Jackson's system or other evidence.
Dr. Murray's departure from the courtroom in handcuffs was an abrupt end to the freedom he had kept since being charged with Mr. Jackson's death nearly 21 months ago. After Dr. Murray changed into prison garb at the courthouse his elegantly tailored suit was returned to his mother, who had sat through every day of the trial.
The other mother in the courtroom, Katherine Mr. Jackson, walked away slowly on the arm of her son, Randy.
"I feel better now," she said quietly and told an Associated Press reporter that she had been confident of the outcome. Her daughter, La Toya, said she was overcome with joy and felt her brother's presence in the courtroom.
"Michael was looking over us," she said.
Monday's verdict was greeted with cheers outside the downtown courthouse where Dr. Murray was convicted. His fans sang the Mr. Jackson hit "Beat It" and cheered his parents and siblings as they left the courthouse.
The singer left behind three children, Prince, Paris and Blanket, who did not attend the trial but were a key component of the case. The eldest children witnessed Dr. Murray's frantic efforts to revive their father. Deputy District Attorney David Walgren repeatedly told jurors in closing arguments that Dr. Murray's actions were the reason the children would grow up without their father, who had planned a series of comeback concerts in large part so they could see him perform.
After the verdict, Walgren extended his sympathies to the Mr. Jackson family, who "lost not a pop icon, but a son, a brother and a father."
- By Linda Deutsch and Anthony McCartney
LOS ANGELES - Jurors considering the case against Michael Jackson's doctor ended their first day of deliberations Friday without reaching a verdict or asking any questions indicating how far along they have gotten in their discussions.
The seven-man, five-woman panel was given highlighters and blank forms to request evidence after starting deliberations around 8:30 a.m.
They recessed around 4 p.m. and were set to resume discussions Monday.
The jury must reach a unanimous verdict to either convict or acquit Dr. Conrad Murray of involuntary manslaughter in Mr. Jackson's June 2009 death.
Mr. Jackson died from a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol; Murray has acknowledged giving Mr. Jackson propofol to help him sleep.
The jury is not sequestered and will deliberate during the court's regular hours. A verdict will be read the same day it is reached.
During closing arguments of the six-week trial, attorneys for the Houston-based cardiologist attacked prosecutors and their witnesses, saying they had over time developed stories and theories that placed the blame for Mr. Jackson's death squarely on Dr. Murray.
Prosecutors countered that Dr. Murray was an opportunistic and inept doctor who left Mr. Jackson's three children without a father. They said that Murray giving Mr. Jackson propofol as a sleep aid violated standards of care and amounted to a secret experiment in which the doctor kept no records.
Media were stationed Friday outside the courthouse and in the courtroom where the jury's decision will eventually be read.
Attorneys handling the case will receive a two-hour notice when a verdict is reached. Dr. Murray waived the need for his presence if the panel asks any questions, but he must be present when a verdict is announced.
Jurors heard from 49 witnesses and have more than 300 pieces of evidence to consider. They were given lengthy instructions by the judge about how to deliberate.
If Dr. Murray is convicted, he faces a sentence ranging from probation to four years behind bars, and he would lose his medical license. The sentence will be decided by Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor after receiving input from attorneys for both sides and probation officials, if necessary.
A recent change in California law means that Murray, 58, might serve any possible incarceration in a county jail rather than a state prison. A prison term could be shortened by overcrowding.
If acquitted, Murray could still be pursued by medical licensing authorities in the states of California, Nevada and Texas.
- By Anthony McCartney. AP writer Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The seven men and five women who hold the fate of Michael Jackson's doctor in their hands are a diverse cross-section of Los Angeles, people of varying ethnicities from different towns who might never have met if they had not been thrown together in the jury pool.
They are white, black and Hispanic, mostly middle-aged and live in an assortment of suburbs in the Los Angeles urban sprawl. Most have children and some have grandchildren.
They include a professor, postman, bus driver, actor and movie animation supervisor.
The panel is set to resume deliberations Monday after spending their first day in discussions Friday without reaching a verdict.
Dr. Conrad Murray has pleaded not guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors accused him of administering a fatal dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol to the King of Pop.
The jurors, who have been engaged by all the details of the case, will likely be methodical in their deliberations.
Nine of them have prior jury experience and one woman, a native of Spain, has served on five juries, all of which reached verdicts. She was once a jury forewoman.
A woman who has worked as a paralegal for 30 years is serving on her first jury and appeared enthralled.
They knew about the involuntary manslaughter charge against Murray before they came to court and most of them know Jackson's music. A few said they were fans and one, the video animation specialist, said he had some interaction with Jackson when the singer was making the video, "Captain EO."
Details about their lives were culled from lengthy written questionnaires obtained by The Associated Press. Their identities have been kept secret and even lawyers in the case know them only by their jury numbers.
In six weeks together the jurors have displayed uncommon attentiveness to the task at hand. Several, including alternates, have taken notes and kept lists of evidence. Once, when the judge was at a loss to find the number of an exhibit, a member of the jury spoke up and told him.
There were no drooping eyelids or distracted glances. When a scientific expert was conducting experiments on the floor of the courtroom, panelists stood up in the jury box to get a better view.
Their attention to evidence and witnesses has impressed Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor, who commended them for their commitment, punctuality in getting to court and willingness to give up their personal lives to serve.
When the trial went longer than Pastor had predicted, he apologized, but the jurors seemed unperturbed.
Every night, when he gave them an admonition to avoid the news, the Internet and other sources of information about the trial, they listened as if it was the first time they had heard it and they nodded in agreement.
Many of the panelists have a familiarity with prescription drugs; most of them said they trust their doctors and several believe that celebrities receive a different kind of justice than average people.
Some have learned about the justice system from TV, watching such shows as "Law and Order" and "CSI." Others watched broadcasts of real-life, high-profile trials including the Casey Anthony case and the O.J. Simpson trial.
One woman, an accounting manager, remembered that during the Simpson trial, "a TV was brought to the office for everyone to follow it." A man in his 30s said he followed that trial in school as an educational experience.
While not sequestered, the jurors have had a rare opportunity to bond because they were kept together for lunch and transported together between a secret parking lot and the courthouse. In order to avoid exposure to events outside the courtroom, the judge had lunch catered for them every day.
First Published September 29, 2011 5:49 pm
