Conrad Murray Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter in Death of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson’s personal physician has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the iconic pop singer’s death in 2009 from an overdose of a powerful intravenous anesthetic ordinarily used in hospitals.
Dr. Conrad Murray, 58, was convicted by a seven-man, five-woman Los Angeles Superior Court jury after about nine hours of deliberations over two days, the Los Angeles Times reports.
During a six-week trial, Murray was portrayed by the prosecution as a careless doctor who administered a potent drug without adequate safeguards to help his patient deal with extreme insomnia, leaving him sedated and unattended as he apparently talked on his cellphone.
The doctor’s conduct also allegedly deviated from the standard of care. Requisite gross negligence for an involuntary manslaughter conviction was established by Jackson having been given the powerful anesthetic propofol in a home setting that lacked life-saving equipment, the Associated Press reports.
No one accused Murray of having acted intentionally, and the defense argued that Jackson caused his own death by accidentally overdosing himself.
His sentence, which will be decided by the trial judge, could range from probation to as much as four years in prison, an earlier Associated Press story noted.
Murray was taken into custody after the verdict. He will be sentenced later this month.
CNN’s This Just In page and USA Today also have stories.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Michael Jackson Doc to Be Tried for Involuntary Manslaughter in Singer’s Death”
ABAJournal.com: “Doctor’s Defense Team Drops Theory That Michael Jackson Drank Rather Than Injected Propofol”
