Jackson doctor gets four-year jail term

Reuters/Los Angeles

Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was yesterday sentenced to four years in jail and denied probation for his conviction on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the pop star’s death.Thriller singer Jackson died of a drug overdose in June 2009, principally from the use of the surgical anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid. That drug had been obtained and administered to Jackson by Murray at the singer’s rented home.Earlier this month, a jury convicted Murray of involuntary manslaughter, or gross negligence, in his treatment of Jackson after witnesses testified propofol should not be administered at home and, even if it is, it must be given only with the proper life-monitoring equipment on hand. It was not. Dr. Murray had agreed to care for Jackson ahead of the singer’s planned comeback concerts in London, and had negotiated a salary of $150,000 per month to care for the singer.In sentencing Murray yesterday, Los Angeles superior court judge Michael Pastor called Murray’s actions “money for medicine madness that is simply not acceptable to me.”Murray sat in his chair, dressed in a gray suit and purple paisley tie, and did not express any emotion.In blistering and lengthy remarks, Pastor lambasted Murray for failing to express any remorse for the pop star’s death and suggesting in a recent documentary that Jackson bore responsibility for his own demise.“Talk about blaming the victim,” Pastor said. “Not only isn’t there any remorse, there is umbrage and outrage on the part of Dr. Murray against the decedent.” “The fact remains, Dr. Murray is offended that (his) patient died,” Pastor said. And Murray remains a danger to the community, he said.Pastor said that he had been impressed by statements from Murray’s friends and family, who talked about his treatment of the poor. He said that he considered the entirety of Murray’s life, something defence attorney Ed Chernoff had urged him to do.“Regrettably, as far as Dr Murray is concerned, the most significant chapter as it relates to this case is the chapter involving the treatment or lack of treatment of Michael Jackson,” Pastor said.He called Murray’s treatment a “disgrace to the medical profession.”“Michael Jackson died not because of an isolated one-off occurrence or incident,” Pastor said. “He died because of a totality of circumstances which are directly attributable to Murray, not some mistake or some accident in the early morning hours of 2009.” He said Murray engaged in a “horrible cycle of medicine.” Prosecutors had also argued that Murray should serve the maximum sentence, citing his “lies,” “coverup” and “concealment.”“Conrad Murray knew perfectly well that what he was doing was wrong,” deputy district attorney David Walgren said. “He knew perfectly well that what he was doing was risking Michael Jackson’s life.” Over a four-week case, prosecutors painted Murray as a deceptive and incompetent doctor who abandoned his medical judgment in complying with Jackson’s request to be given a surgical anesthetic to put him to sleep.