7 Nov 2011

Michael Jackson doctor guilty of manslaughter

Michael Jackson’s personal doctor is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by giving the ‘King of Pop’ a fatal dose of a powerful anesthetic that led to his death.

Dr Conrad Murray at an earlier hearing (Reuters)

After a six week trial a panel of seven men and five women took two days to decide that Dr Conrad Murray was guilty of giving the pop star a fatal dose of propofol.

Dr Murray had pleaded not guilty but the jury found him grossly negligent in administering too much propofol to help Jackson sleep.

Defense attorneys claimed Jackson delivered the fatal dose of propofol to himself.

The fifty-eight year old now faces a maximum prison of four years and could lose his license to practice medicine.

Outside the court, more than 100 Jackson fans erupted in cheers.

Jackson was found lifeless at his Los Angeles mansion on June 25, 2009, aged 50, about three weeks before he was scheduled to begin a series of concerts in London aimed at returning the pop star to the limelight.

Paramedics tried to revive the singer and rushed his body to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. His death was ruled to have come from an overdose of sedatives and propofol, which is normally used in surgery.

Murray admitted giving Jackson a small dose of propofol to help him sleep. But his lawyers argued at the trial that the singer was dependent on the drug and that Jackson likely gave himself a extra, fatal dose of the powerful anesthetic, as well as swallowing a handful of sedatives, without Murray’s knowledge.

Prosecutors argued Murray was guilty of gross negligence for administering the powerful drug in a home setting, failing to monitor Jackson, delaying calling emergency services, and failing to tell medical personnel he gave the singer propofol.

Dr Murray has been remanded in custody without bail until he receives his sentence on November 29.