Jackson doctor will not testify in own defence

AFP/Los AngelesMichael Jackson’s doctor Conrad Murray said yesterday he has decided not to testify in his own defence, at the climax of his manslaughter trial over the star’s 2009 death. “My decision is that I will not testify in this matter,” he told judge Michael Pastor during a break in the trial at Los Angeles Superior court, which is due to finish within days. Asked whether he had made his decision “freely and voluntarily,” Murray replied: “Yes.” Most observers have assumed that Murray, whose account of Jackson’s death was given in a two-hour interview with police, would not testify as it could only harm his case. That point of view was bolstered on Monday when prosecutor David Walgren staged a forensic cross-examination picking apart the testimony of the defence’s star witness, Doctor Paul White, which he could repeat on Murray in the dock. But others argued that given how many holes prosecutors have picked in his defense case, the doctor - who has sat in grim silence for the last five weeks - could decide to appeal directly to the jury. The TMZ celebrity news website had reported that Murray’s defence lawyers, Ed Chernoff and Michael Flanagan, were split over whether he should take the stand.