Dr. Conrad Murray held a grim but stern face as he received the ‘guilty’ verdict earlier today in the case of involuntary manslaughter of pop legend Michael Jackson. The doctor will be held in custody until the terms of his sentence have been worked out by 29 November — he could be facing up to four years in prison.

This outcome leads us one step closer to the end of the downfall of the notorious doctor who gave up his practice after having been given “a once in a lifetime opportunity” to escort a single, but exclusive patient on his much anticipated comeback. Michael Jackson was preparing for a spectacular row of concerts in London and Dr. Murray was hired to take care of the superstar’s health.

But the job of a lifetime ended abruptly on June 25, 2009 when Jackson went into cardiac arrest after overdosing on anesthetics for his sleeping problem. According to LA Times, Murray will be held at the LA Country Jail where he is currently under suicide watch. The defense spoke to the CNN that Murray was ‘devastated’ by the verdict but ‘confident’ in an appeal.

“What matters most right now is trying to keep Dr. Murray from taking up a prison cell in this community,” said Ed Chernoff, lead defense lawyer to CNN. “That’s what we’re focusing on right now and we’ll deal with an appeal after that.” The comment relates to a new California law that aims to reduce overcrowding of state prisons.

The current focus on fighting county jail overcrowding could affect Murray’s final sentence. The courtroom had witnessed detailed accounts of Jackson’s final hours, including hospital photos of an emaciated Michael as well as audio recordings where Jackson “revealed his anxiety about his forthcoming concerts in London,” reported the Huffington Post.

It was also described how the pop star’s children, Paris, Prince and Blanket, had witnessed the efforts to save their father and how the now 13-year-old Paris, collapsed when she learned that her father had passed away. Fans were showing their support of the Jackson family outside the court, and were relieved when the guilty verdict was given.

To the Huffington Post, one fan commented; “The main justice was Conrad Murray being whisked away in handcuffs in front of the Jackson family so now Michael Jackson can rest in peace and [...] Jackson fans can have closure and we will forever miss you Michael.”

The article Michael Jackson’s Doctor Found Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The case against Dr. Conrad Murray has entered its final stage as the Los Angeles courtroom began on Tuesday with opening statements on the death of Michael Jackson in 2009 and whether or not his doctor was responsible. Jackson’s family was present alongside dozens of reporters and the proceedings are expected to be televised and broadcast online to a worldwide audience.

Dr. Murray stands accused of administering a killing dosage of sedatives to Michael Jackson in June 2009. The King of Pop was in the middle of rehearsals for a long-anticipated comeback tour when he suffered a heart attack at his rented mansion. The doctor allegedly gave the singer a lethal dosage of surgical anesthetics that was ruled as cause of death.

However, the doctor claims that Jackson administered the medicine himself. According to the BBC, the court listened to a message on an answering machine believed to have been left on the doctor’s phone by the singer shortly before his death. Jackson’s words are badly slurred as he attempts to talk about his tour.

The trial of the doctor is expected to last five weeks and it seems Michael Jackson’s death trial will end up as sensational as his life. On June 25, 2009, Dr. Conrad Murray gave local police a three-hour long interview, during which he admitted to injecting the singer with the off-licensed anesthesia which was meant to help the singer sleep.

It was this interview that led to the charges of involuntary manslaughter that threatens to send Dr. Murray in prison for four years. However, the doctor’s defense attorneys hope to convince jurors of a different theory: that the pop sensation ultimately caused his own death.

The first witness of the prosecution is Kenny Ortega, Jackson’s friend and choreographer. He will testify to details of the pop-star’s final days but has already said at a hearing earlier this year that Murray “warned him not to try to act as Jackson’s physician or psychiatrist” after Ortega thought Jackson “appeared to be sick” during a rehearsal and sent him home, according to Businessweek.com.

The prosecution will also utilize the interview of Dr. Murray and to a greater extend than before, challenge the doctor’s account of his actions. Dr. Murray has previously been noted as cooperative in the investigation, according to his defense, but recent evidence by the prosecutors point to four phone and email messages which were left unanswered in June and July, reports LAtimes.com.

This suggests a failure on Murray’s behalf to fully cooperate with the police and could harm his case. The authorities contend that Dr. Murray administered a lethal amount of the hospital drug alongside other sedatives, without taking into account the state of the 50-year-old star. It is also argued that the doctor lacked the proper lifesaving equipment says Businessweek.com.

Around a hundred jurors have to be cut down to 12 final members who will decide the final verdict. They have to go through dozens of witnesses and testimonies to get the first full account of what really happened the night Jackson died. We hope to know the truth in the next five weeks.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/bianhan/

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