If
one were to hear several years ago that a doctor faced charges for
crimes against Michael Jackson, one would rightly assume that it would
be his plastic surgeon and not, in fact, a man held responsible for his
drug-induced death. Yet, if the history of Michael Jackson teaches us
anything, it is that anything regarding the late singer will be more
bizarre and sordid than anyone would initially suspect. The doctor in
question is Conrad Murray, charged with involuntary manslaughter for
administering the drug Propofol that caused the death of Michael Jackson
two years ago.
The charges of involuntary manslaughter should be easy for the prosecution to prove given the circumstances of Michael Jackson's death. In California, involuntary manslaughter is the unlawful killing of another person during the commission of a lawful act that carries a high risk of death or bodily harm that is committed without due caution or circumspection. Prosecutors will likely be able to prove that Dr. Murray injected Michael Jackson with the Propofol that caused his death, and that since Propofol is administered almost solely in a hospital setting for sedation, Dr. Murray's actions were so reckless that he should be held responsible for Michael Jackson's death.
However, because the case involves Michael Jackson, whose eccentricities have been recounted numerous times over the past several decades, it would be foolish to believe that this case will end simply with an easy conviction for Jackson's doctor. One of the witnesses who testified at the preliminary hearing against Dr. Murray went mysteriously missing, claiming to have escaped to Thailand. He was only tracked down several days ago, just as the trial is set to begin. Additionally, the defense may claim that the lethal dose of Propofol was not injected by Dr. Murray, since a massive amount of the drug was found in his stomach, while Dr. Murray was alleged to have administered it through injection. After allegations that Michael Jackson gave children he intended to seduce wine that he called "Jesus Juice," it would be ironic if the defense proved that the singer died from drinking something he really should not have.
However, even if the defense successfully makes the claim that Jackson's death was caused by Jackson drinking Propofol, this still may not absolve Conrad Murray of the charges. The very circumstances of Dr. Murray's employment for Jackson may constitute enough of a breach of a duty to Jackson to ensure his conviction. Although Murray was employed as Jackson's personal doctor, his real purpose was to be nothing more than Jackson's drug dealer, supplying him with narcotics and administering them to him when the singer so desired. For all the allegations of massive drug use by Charlie Sheen and Amy Winehouse, neither of them had a full time drug dealer on staff, and the highly-paid Sheen could have certainly afforded one if he wanted one.
Despite the medical certification, what Conrad Murray did was act less as a doctor and more as a drug dealer. Michael Jackson's medical problems may have been numerous and largely self-inflicted, but a person healthy enough to perform a series of physically taxing performances in front of audiences of thousands hardly needs a full-time doctor on staff to cater to his needs. There was only one reason why Jackson hired Dr. Murray, and that was to supply him with a continuous supply of extremely heavy narcotics, thus making his job description one that Michael Jackson never should have demanded and Conrad Murray never should have accepted. Jackson paid the price with his life, and Conrad Murray may pay the prize with his freedom.
This, of course, assumes that the trial proceeds orderly and without major bombshells, interruptions or unexpected events that derail it. Judge Michael Pastor, who presides over the case, has thus far kept the defense on a tight leash, ruling that details involving Jackson's molestation of young boys cannot be introduced at trial. The judge further ruled that outtakes from "This is It," the raw footage of Jackson rehearsing for the trial, cannot be shown to prove Jackson's health in the weeks before his death. The prosecution may have to settle for a coroner's report that showed Michael Jackson was in fine health at the time of his death. Since the L.A. coroner's office also made the same judgment about actor Corey Haim at the time of his death, this raises two questions: Just how reliable is the L.A. coroner if they can find Michael Jackson and Corey Haim to be in good health during an autopsy? And, in just how bad condition must one be for the L.A. coroner to find one in poor health, if a one-hundred pound, fifty year old man made of more plastic than the average Barbie doll is considered a fine physical specimen? By the standards of the L.A. coroner's office, Stephen Hawking might be cleared to compete in a triathlon.
And, if any case since the O.J. Simpson trial called out for cameras to be banned from the courtroom, it is this one, yet Judge Pastor decided to allow cameras to record the trial. This virtually guarantees that the trial, no matter how tightly Judge Pastor tries to control it, will descend into a gaudy sideshow, with Pastor as its carnival barker. If there is one Jackson family addiction stronger than Propofol, it is to publicity, and this will only encourage others in the courtroom to match their desperate cries for attention. If the trial includes a special appearances by Bubbles the chimp and a defense allegation that Michael Jackson faked his own death and has been living as his sister LaToya for the past several years, it will only match the insanity of the courtroom spectators.
If the prosecution follows through with what it proved during the preliminary hearing, Dr. Murray may get what he deserves for recklessly causing Michael Jackson's death. And if the presence of cameras in the courtroom leads to a spectacle that mocks the very court system that brought Dr. Murray to trial, so too will the audience get what it deserves.
The author brings some tricky situations to think over about the much talked case in world involving sex crimes lawyer. Conrad Murray may just be in need of a domestic violence attorney who would be his defendant in the upcoming trial.
The charges of involuntary manslaughter should be easy for the prosecution to prove given the circumstances of Michael Jackson's death. In California, involuntary manslaughter is the unlawful killing of another person during the commission of a lawful act that carries a high risk of death or bodily harm that is committed without due caution or circumspection. Prosecutors will likely be able to prove that Dr. Murray injected Michael Jackson with the Propofol that caused his death, and that since Propofol is administered almost solely in a hospital setting for sedation, Dr. Murray's actions were so reckless that he should be held responsible for Michael Jackson's death.
However, because the case involves Michael Jackson, whose eccentricities have been recounted numerous times over the past several decades, it would be foolish to believe that this case will end simply with an easy conviction for Jackson's doctor. One of the witnesses who testified at the preliminary hearing against Dr. Murray went mysteriously missing, claiming to have escaped to Thailand. He was only tracked down several days ago, just as the trial is set to begin. Additionally, the defense may claim that the lethal dose of Propofol was not injected by Dr. Murray, since a massive amount of the drug was found in his stomach, while Dr. Murray was alleged to have administered it through injection. After allegations that Michael Jackson gave children he intended to seduce wine that he called "Jesus Juice," it would be ironic if the defense proved that the singer died from drinking something he really should not have.
However, even if the defense successfully makes the claim that Jackson's death was caused by Jackson drinking Propofol, this still may not absolve Conrad Murray of the charges. The very circumstances of Dr. Murray's employment for Jackson may constitute enough of a breach of a duty to Jackson to ensure his conviction. Although Murray was employed as Jackson's personal doctor, his real purpose was to be nothing more than Jackson's drug dealer, supplying him with narcotics and administering them to him when the singer so desired. For all the allegations of massive drug use by Charlie Sheen and Amy Winehouse, neither of them had a full time drug dealer on staff, and the highly-paid Sheen could have certainly afforded one if he wanted one.
Despite the medical certification, what Conrad Murray did was act less as a doctor and more as a drug dealer. Michael Jackson's medical problems may have been numerous and largely self-inflicted, but a person healthy enough to perform a series of physically taxing performances in front of audiences of thousands hardly needs a full-time doctor on staff to cater to his needs. There was only one reason why Jackson hired Dr. Murray, and that was to supply him with a continuous supply of extremely heavy narcotics, thus making his job description one that Michael Jackson never should have demanded and Conrad Murray never should have accepted. Jackson paid the price with his life, and Conrad Murray may pay the prize with his freedom.
This, of course, assumes that the trial proceeds orderly and without major bombshells, interruptions or unexpected events that derail it. Judge Michael Pastor, who presides over the case, has thus far kept the defense on a tight leash, ruling that details involving Jackson's molestation of young boys cannot be introduced at trial. The judge further ruled that outtakes from "This is It," the raw footage of Jackson rehearsing for the trial, cannot be shown to prove Jackson's health in the weeks before his death. The prosecution may have to settle for a coroner's report that showed Michael Jackson was in fine health at the time of his death. Since the L.A. coroner's office also made the same judgment about actor Corey Haim at the time of his death, this raises two questions: Just how reliable is the L.A. coroner if they can find Michael Jackson and Corey Haim to be in good health during an autopsy? And, in just how bad condition must one be for the L.A. coroner to find one in poor health, if a one-hundred pound, fifty year old man made of more plastic than the average Barbie doll is considered a fine physical specimen? By the standards of the L.A. coroner's office, Stephen Hawking might be cleared to compete in a triathlon.
And, if any case since the O.J. Simpson trial called out for cameras to be banned from the courtroom, it is this one, yet Judge Pastor decided to allow cameras to record the trial. This virtually guarantees that the trial, no matter how tightly Judge Pastor tries to control it, will descend into a gaudy sideshow, with Pastor as its carnival barker. If there is one Jackson family addiction stronger than Propofol, it is to publicity, and this will only encourage others in the courtroom to match their desperate cries for attention. If the trial includes a special appearances by Bubbles the chimp and a defense allegation that Michael Jackson faked his own death and has been living as his sister LaToya for the past several years, it will only match the insanity of the courtroom spectators.
If the prosecution follows through with what it proved during the preliminary hearing, Dr. Murray may get what he deserves for recklessly causing Michael Jackson's death. And if the presence of cameras in the courtroom leads to a spectacle that mocks the very court system that brought Dr. Murray to trial, so too will the audience get what it deserves.
The author brings some tricky situations to think over about the much talked case in world involving sex crimes lawyer. Conrad Murray may just be in need of a domestic violence attorney who would be his defendant in the upcoming trial.
