Conrad Murray, 58, the personal doctor for Michael Jackson at the time of his death, began his trial on involuntary manslaughter charges for the death of “The King of Pop.”
In opening statements, prosecutors said that Dr. Murray was an incompetent physician who improperly used a dangerous anesthetic called propofol to help Jackson sleep and that this misuse ultimately caused Jackson’s death.
The defense countered by arguing that Jackson took several pills of the sedative lorazepam on the morning of his death which would be enough to put six people to sleep. They further argued that Jackson then took a self-administered dose of propofol. This final dose, the defense explained, killed Jackson instantly. The defense argued that Jackson accidently killed himself after Doctor Murray refused to administer any more propofol to Jackson for his sleep disorders. They explained that Murray had been attempting to wean Jackson off of propofol by administering other sleep aids (benzodiazepines) to him. Jackson did not want to change the drugs he was taking and therefore began administering the drugs to himself which caused his death.
The defense said, “What we will hear is that Doctor Murray provided propofol for two months to Michael Jackson for sleep. During those two months, Michael Jackson slept. He woke up and he lived his life. The evidence will not show you that Michael Jackson died because Dr. Murray gave him propofol. The evidence is going to show you Michael Jackson died when Dr. Murray stopped,”
Murray faces a maximum of four years in prison and the loss of his medical license if convicted.
