[ 2011-11-30 ]

As Dr Murray was lead out of court he blew a kiss to his family and friends in the public gallery

Conrad Murray sentenced to four years for involuntary manslaughter
Conrad Murray, the doctor convicted of causing
Michael Jackson’s death, was jailed for four
years with a judge describing him as a “disgrace
to the medical profession”.

Handing down the maximum sentence for a charge of
involuntary manslaughter Judge Michael Pastor
delivered an excoriating assessment of Murray,
saying he had engaged in a “horrible cycle of
medicine” and committed a "horrific violation of
trust.”

Murray, dressed in a grey suit, showed no emotion
and sat with his hands clasped in front of him as
he was sentenced. He declined the opportunity to
address the court. Members of Jackson’s family
including his mother Katherine, sat a few yards
away.

Sheriff's officials say the doctor will serve a
little less than two years behind bars.

Sheriff's spokesman Nicole Nishida said Murray
will be housed in a one-man cell and kept away
from other prisoners.

Jackson died on June 25, 2009 at a rented mansion
in Los Angeles. Murray had been hired as his
personal physician to look after the singer as he
rehearsed for 50 planned concerts at the O2 Arena
in London.
Murray admitted giving Jackson propofol, a
powerful anaesthetic, to help him sleep but
claimed the amount was too small to kill the
singer. A jury convicted him of involuntary
manslaughter earlier this month.

In delivering the sentence Judge Pastor said:
“Dr Murray engaged in money for medicine madness
that is not to going to be tolerated by me. This
was an unacceptable, egregious series of
departures from the accepted standard of care. An
honourable profession bears the scourge, the blot
of what happened here.

“There are those who feel Dr Murray is a saint,
there are those who feel Dr Murray is the devil.
He is neither. He is a human being and he stands
convicted of the death of another human being. He
has absolutely no sense of remorse or fault and
is, and remains, dangerous.”

The 58-year-old cardiologist had “violated his
own obligations for money, fame, prestige and
whatever else may have occurred,” the judge
said.

He said the doctor had ordered propofol in
“staggering and unprecedented quantities,”
displayed a “long-standing failure of
character” and told "unconscionable lies” to
paramedics who tried to save the singer.

Judge Pastor said he was particularly angered by a
“faux reality production,” a television
documentary called “Michael Jackson and The
Doctor: A Fatal Friendship,” which Murray filmed
secretly during the six week trial.

As Dr Murray was lead out of court he blew a kiss
to his family and friends in the public gallery


In the documentary Murray said: “I don’t feel
guilty because I did not do anything wrong.”

The judge said: “Yikes. Talk about blaming the
victim. Not only isn’t there any remorse, there
is umbrage and outrage from Dr Murray against the
deceased. To hear Dr Murray say it, he was just a
bystander. The fact remains Dr Murray is offended
by that patient dying. I think Dr Murray is so
reckless he is a danger to the community.

“Michael Jacskon died not because of an isolated
one off occurrence or incident, he died because of
a totality of circumstances which are directly
attributable to Dr Murray.

“This was not some mistake or accident in the
early hours of the morning, it was because of a
series of decisions Dr Murray made which
jeopardised his patient, which violated his
obligations to his patient and his Hippocratic
Oath.”

The judge said the most disturbing aspect of the
six week trial had been a tape recording Murray
made of his vulnerable patient slurring his words
under the influence of drugs. He said his belief
was that Murray had made the surreptitious
recording as an “insurance policy.”

Prosecutor David Walgren had earlier asked for the
maximum sentence of four years. He said: “The
defendant was playing Russian roulette with
Michael Jackson’s life every single night.



“Every night they were up in Michael Jackson’s
bedroom and he was administering propofol in that
reckless, obscene manner, Michael Jackson’s life
was put at risk.”

Mr Walgren said Jackson’s mother had written a
letter to the court also asking for the maximum
sentence, and describing how she felt
“betrayed.”

He said: “Mrs Jackson says he violated her
son’s trust, failed her son and failed her
family. Not a day goes by when she does not think
about her son.

Every morning he is the first thing she thinks
about. Michael Jacskon was his children’s world
and their world collapsed when he left.

“At the hospital his daughter Paris was crying
and stated ’I want to go with you’ referring
to her Dad.”

Mr Walgren also sought a restitution order against
Murray for $100 million, the amount Jackson stood
to make personally from his “This Is It” tour,
with the money to be paid to his children Prince,
14, Paris, 13 and Blanket, nine.

Murray’s lawyer Ed Chernoff said his client was
willing to pay restitution but added: “He’ll
never be able to pay $100 million.”

Brian Panish, a lawyer for the Jackson family,
read a statement to the court on their behalf.

It said: “As his brothers and sisters, we will
never be able to hold, laugh or perform again with
our brother Michael. And as his children, we will
grow up without a father, our best friend, our
playmate and our Dad.”

Murray’s mother Milta Rush, 80, a former
professional bridal gown maker and cake maker, had
written a letter to the judge asking for lenience
for her son.

She said: “He brings a special joy to my life
that has been taken away because of his current
situation. He has never been in trouble with the
law before and I am barely standing, scared and
worried sick about him being incarcerated.”

Source - The Times(UK)

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