Conrad Murray, who was the doctor present when Michael Jackson died has pleaded not guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter which has been put against him.
The post mortem, following the death of the pop singer, showed that he had been given an overdose of an anaesthetic which had killed him. The doctor was accused of giving him a lethal dose and then not giving him the proper care needed and this led to his death. Murray has also claimed that he was innocent but if the courts find him guilty he could face a four year prison sentence.
The preliminary hearing has already provided some information with regards to the happenings leading up to Jackson’s death. Witnesses claimed that the doctor had hidden from them, the fact that he gave Jackson a dose of propofol which is an anaesthetic normally not administered at a patients home but in a hospital. A police detective also provided evidence, stating that the doctor admitted he had given Jackson this drug after giving him some less strong ones to help him sleep, during the course of the night.
Murray’s defence claim that there is not enough evidence to show that it was the drugs that caused the death of Jackson, as his poor health could have been a large contributing factor to his death. Murray’s attorney stated that the doctor was looking forward to having the opportunity to put his side of the story over.
The LA County coroners office has identified the cause of death to be an overdose of propofol which they found in his body with the other drugs he had taken.
The detective that interviewed Murray after the death of Jackson provided evidence at the trial. He stated that Murray had told him that he would have to cancel his comeback concerts, which he was rehearsing for in London, unless he was given a dose of propofol. The Doctor admitted to the detective that he did give Jackson the drug and then left the room for a few minutes to answer a call of nature. On returning, he found Jackson had stopped breathing and he tried to resuscitate him, rather than immediately call an ambulance. The doctor said that he felt that this was the best things to do as he wanted to care for his patient.
However, the prosecution found that phone records showed the doctor called other people before the ambulance which was requested an hour after be found Jackson had stopped breathing.
Dr Murray also told the detective that he had been regularly giving Jackson doses of the drug but was trying to restrict the amounts he was having as he was worried that his patient was becoming addicted to it.
Murray’s lawyer claims that there is not enough evidence to prove that Murray caused Jackson’s death.
The trial date has been set for the 28th March and is expected to go on for about six weeks. The judge will decide whether to allow television cameras to film the proceeding or not.