LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson’s personal doctor killed the King of Pop with his unprofessional actions — and now must face the consequences, a jury declared Monday.
Dr. Conrad Murray, a Houston cardiologist, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for giving the iconic singer a surgery-strength anesthetic as a sleep aid in Jackson’s rented West Coast pad.
Murray, 58, who faces a sentence ranging from probation to four years behind bars, was immediately tossed in jail without bail.
“I’m happy now,” the Gloved One’s mother, Katherine Jackson, said softly as she was led out of the packed courtroom, flanked by body guards and court officers.
performing in 1988
There were 17 Jackson relatives in the courtroom. His brother Jermaine Jackson put his hands together as if praying, pulled them up to his face, and nodded triumphantly.
“Michael was looking over us,” La Toya Jackson said.
The verdict showed that the jury believed the testimony of an expert on the anesthetic propofol, who said the breath-suppressing medication is much too dangerous for use in a home setting.
Throngs of Jackson supporters outside the courthouse — some waving signs reading “Guilty!” — erupted in wild cheers over what they saw as swift justice.
Prosecutors had argued that on the day of Jackson's overdose death — June 25, 2009 — Murray had “abandoned” Jackson's bedside after giving him propofol and left him without adequate monitoring, resuscitative equipment or backup staff.
The panel of seven men and five women announced its unanimous decision before the crowded courtroom, where Jackson's family had sat front and center for most of the six-week trial.
The judge then offered scathing criticism of Murray before deeming him a flight risk and ordering him locked up pending the sentencing on Nov. 29.
“Dr. Murray’s reckless conduct poses a demonstrable risk to the public,” Judge Michael Pastor said.
Prosecutors hailed the jury’s decision, reached on the second day of deliberations.
Prosecutors hailed the jury’s decision, reached on the second day of deliberations.
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