Michael Jackson’s personal physician found guilty

Michael Jackson’s personal physician found guilty

Dr Conrad Murray being held by security agents.

Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, has been found guilty of causing the King of Pop’s death.

After nearly six weeks of testimony and 10 hours of deliberation, the jury in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Murray has reached a verdict. With the judgment, the 12 jurors unanimously agreed that Murray was solely responsible for causing Jackson's death by administering a deadly dose of the powerful sedative Propofol to him.

After the verdict, having been found guilty of a felony, Murray's bail was denied and the doctor was remanded into custody until his sentencing.

Judge Michael Pastor will next decide Murray's fate on Tuesday, November 29.

The doctor faces a sentence of probation, a revoked medical license, and potentially four years in prison.

Witnesses’ testimony

The prosecution called witness after witness that painted a damning case against the doctor: Jackson bodyguards testified about how Murray acted improperly when trying to resuscitate the singer, how the doc failed to call paramedics in a timely matter, and Murray attempted to hide medical evidence in the hours after Jackson's death.

Paramedics corroborated much of that testimony, and the Los Angeles coroner and medical experts who specialized in sedatives also told the court that an overdose of Propofol was what caused Jackson to suffer cardiac arrest. Three of Murray's girlfriends said on the stand that the doctor had called them the night Jackson died, which suggested that he wasn't paying attention to his world famous patient.

Reactions

Reacting to the judgement, Jermaine Jackson expressed satisfaction with the jury’s decision. He said: "I'm just happy it's over with.

Nothing will bring [Michael] back, but I'm happy [Murray] was found guilty," sister Rebbie told reporters. La Toya added: "Thank you America, thank all the fans, thank the prosecuting team, everyone was great. Michael was in that courtroom, that's why victory was served."

 Michael Jackson's parents Joe and Katherine said: "We have been waiting for this moment for a very long time and we couldn't hold back tears of joy in the courtroom.  Even though nothing can bring back our son, justice has finally been served!"

AMPLIFIRE/Williams