THE DOCTOR CONVICTED in the overdose death of Michael Jackson was sentenced to the maximum four years behind bars today by a judge who denounced him as a reckless physician whose actions were a “disgrace to the medical profession.”
Dr Conrad Murray sat stoically with his hands crossed as Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor repeatedly chastised him for what he called a “horrific violation of trust” while caring for Jackson.
The judge was relentless in his bashing of Murray, saying he lied repeatedly and had not shown remorse for his actions in the treatment of Jackson.
“Dr Murray created a set of circumstances and became involved in a cycle of horrible medicine,” the judge said.
He called the heavy use of propofol “medicine madness, which violated his sworn obligation, for money, fame, prestige and whatever else may have occurred.”
Pastor said one of the most disturbing aspects of Murray’s case was a slurred recording of Jackson recovered from the doctor’s cell phone.
“That tape recording was Dr Murray’s insurance policy,” Pastor said. “It was designed to record his patient surreptitiously at that patient’s most vulnerable point.”
Jail overcrowding could result in the four-year sentence being at least in half.
Michael Jackson’s family told Pastor they were not seeking revenge but wanted the doctor who killed the superstar to receive a stiff sentence that served as a warning to opportunistic doctors.
“The Bible reminds us that men cannot do justice, they can only seek justice,” the family said in a statement read by attorney Brian Panish. “That is all we can ask as a family, and that is all we ask for here.”
The statement went on to say, “We are not here to seek revenge. There is nothing you can do today that will bring Michael back.”
It included elements from Jackson’s parents, siblings and his three children.
“As his brothers and sisters, we will never be able to hold, laugh or perform again with our brother Michael,” the statement said. “And as his children, we will grow up without a father, our best friend, our playmate and our dad.”
The family told The Associated Press after the sentencing that they were pleased with the results.
“We’re going to be a family. We’re going to move forward. We’re going to tour, play the music and miss him,” brother Jermaine Jackson said.
Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a six-week trial that presented the most detailed account yet of Jackson’s final hours but left many questions about Murray’s treatment of the superstar with an operating-room anesthetic as he battled chronic insomnia.
Before sentencing, lead defence attorney Ed Chernoff highlighted the accomplishments of Murray.
“I do wonder though to what extent the court considers the entirety of a man’s book of life, as opposed to one chapter,” he told the judge.
Chernoff again attacked Michael Jackson, as he and his team frequently did during the doctor’s trial.
“Michael Jackson was a drug seeker,” Chernoff said.
The doctor decided not to directly address the court. After sentencing, he mouthed the words “I love you” to his mother and girlfriend in the courtroom.
Jackson’s death in June 2009 stunned the world, as did the ensuing investigation that led to Murray being charged in February 2010.
Murray told detectives he had been giving the singer nightly doses of propofol to help him sleep as he prepared for a series of comeback concerts. Propofol is supposed to be used in hospital settings and has never been approved for sleep treatments, yet Murray acknowledged giving it to Jackson then leaving the room on the day the singer died.
Murray declined to testify during his trial but did opt to participate in a documentary in which he said he didn’t consider himself guilty of any crime and blamed Jackson for entrapping him into administering the propofol doses.
His attorneys contended throughout the case that Jackson must have given himself the fatal dose when Murray left the singer’s bedside.
In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors cited Murray’s statements to advocate that he receive the maximum term. They also want him to pay restitution to the singer’s three children — Prince, Paris and Blanket.
It’s unlikely that Murray can pay any sizable sum, including the $1.8 million cost of his funeral. He was deeply in debt when he agreed to serve as Jackson’s personal physician for $150,000 a month, and the singer died before Murray received any money.
Prosecutors said the relationship of Jackson and Murray was corrupted by greed. Murray left his practices to serve as Jackson’s doctor and look out for his well-being, but instead acted as an employee catering to the singer’s desire to receive propofol to put him to sleep, prosecutors said.
“The defendant has displayed a complete lack of remorse for causing Michael Jackson’s death,” prosecutors wrote in a filing last week. “Even worse than failing to accept even the slightest level of responsibility, (Murray) has placed blame on everyone else, including the one person no longer here to defend himself, Michael Jackson.”
Murray’s attorneys relied largely on 34 letters from relatives, friends and former patients to portray Murray in a softer light and win a lighter sentence. The letters and defense filings described Murray’s compassion as a doctor, including accepting lower payments from his mostly poor patients.
“There is no question that the death of his patient, Mr. Jackson, was unintentional and an enormous tragedy for everyone affected,” defense attorneys wrote in their sentencing memo. “Dr Murray has been described as a changed, grief-stricken man, who walks around under a pall of sadness since the loss of his patient, Mr Jackson.”
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