The trial against Dr. Conrad Murray for his role in the tragic death of world renowned pop star Michael Jackson began last week in California at the Los Angeles Superior Court.  Joe Jackson, Michael’s father, brought involuntary manslaughter charges against the 58-year-old cardiologist, who he believes is responsible for Michael Jackson’s untimely demise.  At the time of Jackson’s death, Dr. Conrad Murray was employed as Michael’s personal physician, prescribing him multiple medications.  Dr. Murray pled not guilty to the charges against him in January, although there is evidence suggesting his negligence as the cause of Jackson’s death.  Under Dr. Conrad Murray’s care, Michael was prescribed propofol (among other medications) as a sleep aid, a medication which is usually used as an anesthetic in hospitals.  Autopsy reports ruled a fatal dosage of the drug as the cause of Michael Jackson’s death.

            On September 27, 2011, opening statements for the case against Dr. Murray were given by the defense, prosecution, and a few witnesses in front of a jury of 11.  In their opening statements, the prosecution depicted Dr. Conrad Murray as greedy and money-hungry, while the defense claimed that Michael Jackson administered a fatal cocktail of prescription drugs himself.  If convicted, Dr. Conrad Murray faces the loss of his medical license and up to four years in a California federal prison.

Prosecutor David Walgren opened with a graphic photo of Michael Jackson dead on a gurney, citing that Dr. Conrad Murray “repeatedly acted with gross negligence, repeatedly denied care, appropriate care, to his patient, Michael Jackson, and it was Dr. Murray’s repeated incompetent and unskilled acts that led to Michael Jackson’s death.”  Murray acquired excessive amounts of the anesthetic propofol for Jackson to help him sleep, an action which Walgren says was motivated by money and not ethics, as Dr. Murray was paid $150,000 a month to tend to Michael Jackson.

Dr. Murray’s defense attorney Ed Chernoff blamed Michael Jackson’s death on a self-administered amount of medications not prescribed by Dr. Conrad Murray; Jackson took “enough to put six of you to sleep and he did this when Dr. Murray was not around,” Chernoff said.  Chernoff said that Michael had ingested Demerol, prescribed by another doctor, in addition to the propofol that was administered to Jackson by Dr. Murray.  The defense claimed that Michael died so quickly, that when Dr. Conrad Murray came in and found him, there was no time to revive him or machinery to do so.

The first witness for the prosecution, producer Kenny Ortega said of Michael’s condition at a rehearsal for his This Is It world tour: “He appeared lost and a little incoherent.  I did not feel he was well.”  A week before the pop star’s untimely death, Michael Jackson didn’t participate in the rehearsal due to his frail state.  An executive from the concert promoter AEG, Paul Gongaware, testified that he negotiated with Dr. Conrad Murray to be Michael’s personal doctor.  Gongaware said that Dr. Murray initially requested 5 million dollars to which Gongaware rejected, but Murray finally agreed to a contract of $150,000 a month for his duties as Michael’s personal physician.

In attendance at the trial were Jackson’s parents and siblings who heard the opening statements by the defense and prosecution on Tuesday.

View the original article here