The People vs. Conrad Murray trial has now entered day 23. All the evidence has been heard and now the prosecution and the defence get to try their final attempt to sway the jury with their closing arguments. These statements will summarise all the evidence they have produced and how they believe thit shows that Conrad Murray is either guilty or not guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
The jury’s final instructions
Before the closing arguments were presented Judge Pastor told the jury their final instructions. He stated that the jury must decide the facts based on what happened and only from the evidence that has been presented in court. They must not use any outside source to do any research or conduct any sort of personal investigation.
The judge reiterated that just because charges were brought against Conrad Murray this does not mean that he is guilty. The People (prosecution) must be able to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt. If they cannot prove this then Conrad Murray is entitled to an acquittal. The jury must decide the credibility and use their common sense and experience to decide the verdict.
The judge reminded the jurors that what the attorneys say is not evidence. Only the answers by witnesses are evidence. Any evidence or answers that the judge had stricken during testimonies should be ignored.
The jurors were told that they must consider all the evidence. They must not be impressed simply because the prosecution had a large number of witnesses. With expert witnesses the jury are not expected to accept that what they have testified is correct. If they believe what has been said is unreasonable then they can disregard that opinion.
An important section of the final instructions stated that Conrad Murray had a constitutional right to not testify. The jury should not judge him based on this. The jury need to rely on his out of court statements to convict him, but only if there is additional evidence to support it. If Conrad Murray had made a false statement before the trial then the jurors can use this as evidence that Murray was aware of his guilt. In reaching a decision the jury can decide whether they believe Conrad Murray had a motive.
The charge
Judge Pastor then broke down for the jurors the crime and what needs to be proven to give a guilty verdict. The charge is involuntary manslaughter. This is a lawful act which was acted out with criminal negligence and that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty with criminal negligence. For Murray to be found guilty they must be able to believe beyond reasonable doubt that Murray committed a lawful act with criminal negligence and that is what killed Michael Jackson. They must also believe that Conrad Murray had a legal duty to Michael Jackson but he failed to perform this.
Criminal negligence is defined as an act was a “high degree of risk of death or great bodily harm, without due caution and circumspection”. The judge then spoke to the jury about accidental death and that if this was the case Dr Murray would be acquitted.
The judge told the jury that unanimity it required and they must agree on the same act or same level of duty that then caused the death.
Prosecution closing argument
The prosecution then started their closing argument. Walgren thanked the service of the jury and their patience and vigilance throughout the trial. In total there have been 49 witnesses and over 330 exhibits.
Walgren told the jurors that the case comes down to whether Conrad Murray was a substantial factor in Michael Jackson’s death. He stated the evidence is overwhelming. It is abundantly clear that Conrad Murray caused the death of Michael Jackson through negligence.
Walgren told to jurors that this case does not end here for Michael’s children. This case will go on for the rest of their lives as they do not have a father due to the actions of Conrad Murray.
Violation of trust
This is a case about trust between a doctor and a patient. The patient relies on the doctor’s medical judgement. A doctor is to do no harm to his patient, regardless of the requests of the patient. The doctor has a legal and ethical duty to do no harm. Every doctor during this trial stated they would not give treatment that could cause harm in the end. The doctor is the decision maker. He is entrusted with his medical knowledge. The doctor makes the decision as to what is proper medical care and if it is for the wellbeing of the patient.
Many doctors have testified that they would say no and walk away if a patient asked for Propofol like this. Even doctors the defence called stated this. Each and every day Conrad Murray violated that sacred trust between doctor and patient. This was an employer / employee relationships. Conrad Murray wanted payment for services rendered.
The trust between a patient and a doctor was corrupted by the actions of Conrad Murray. Michael Jackson trusted Conrad Murray with his life. He trusted the future lives of his children with Conrad Murray. Michael Jackson believed when he slept Conrad Murray would look after him so he would awaken to be able to have breakfast with his children. Conrad Murray corrupted this and Michael Jackson paid with his life.
On the 24th June 2009 Michael Jackson performed at the Staples Centre and by all accounts it was a great performance. Michael Jackson was looking to the future. Of course Michael Jackson was anxious; he was a 50 year old man about to embark on the biggest tour of his career. But he was an optimist and looking forward to the future. He wanted to make a nice home so he could settle down with his children. Michael Jackson had hopes and dreams like all of us.
Criminal negligence
Walgren then continued by stating that criminal negligence is not an intentional desire to kill. No one is trying to prove that Conrad Murray sought to kill Michael Jackson. But Conrad Murray acted so recklessly with the life of Michael Jackson that it constitutes are indifference to that life.
Walgren then spoke to the jury about causation, the failure to perform a legal duty and Conrad Murray’s actions being a substantial factor in Michael Jackson’s death. Michael Jackson was abandoned with Propofol and benzodiazepines running through his blood. This is a substantial factor in causing Michael Jackson’s death.
Conrad Murray did not tell paramedics or doctors at UCLA hospital that he had been administering Propofol to Michael Jackson for two months. By giving a false or misleading statement this shows guilt for a crime.
He “hit the lottery”
Conrad Murray believed he had “hit the lottery” with his employment with Michael Jackson. He was getting $150,000 a month and had already told all his patients he was taking a sabbatical.
In preparation Conrad Murray had ordered vast quantities of Propofol to be delivered to his girlfriend’s apartment, and not a clinic. Conrad Murray had witnessed the state that Michael Jackson would be in when drugged up. Conrad Murray even secretly recorded this (although he failed to keep any of his own medical records relating to Michael Jackson whatsoever). Two days after the slurred recording that was played in court Conrad Murray placed his largest order of Propofol and benzodiazepines. Although Conrad Murray states he was trying to wean Michael Jackson off of Propofol 15 days before he died Conrad Murray placed another large order for more drugs.
A total of 4.09 gallons of Propofol was ordered. This equates to nearly 2,000 mg of Propofol a day during the 80 days that Conrad Murray was treating Michael Jackson. Conrad Murray wants you to believe that on the 25th June he administered 25 mg of Propofol.
Lies
Conrad Murray also lied to multiple people about Michael Jackson’s health. In the first week of June a meeting was held to discuss concerns about Michael’s nutrition and weight. Conrad Murray assured everyone he would take care of Michael. He told multiple people, including the insurance company, that Michael was in great health. Kenny Ortega tried to raise his concerns with both Randy Phillips and Conrad Murray but during a meeting to discuss this Conrad Murray told Ortega he didn’t appreciate him getting involved in medical matters. Murray told him “stop trying to be an amateur doctor and psychologist and leave Michael’s health to me”.
Nurse Lee told the court how on the 21st June she recommended Michael Jackson be taken to the hospital as he was feeling hot and cold in his body. She believed this was a sign of Propofol use.
On the 23rd and 24th of June Michael Jackson completed his last ever performances. They were tremendous. Michael Jackson was very excited and the tour was about to get off the ground. Michael Jackson told Kenny Ortega that in rehearsals tomorrow, 25th June, the illusion would be ready and unwrapped in rehearsals. He was excited at this prospect. Before he left Michael Jackson told Kenny Ortega “you got me here, now I'm ready”. This was the last time Kenny Ortega saw Michael Jackson alive.
Conrad Murray indicted himself
When Conrad Murray spoke to police on the 27th June they were “working in the dark”. Conrad Murray told them he had been giving Michael Jackson nightly doses of Propofol. He told them that he had used a drip apart from the three nights leading up to Michael’s death. Walgren then reiterated the timeline that Conrad Murray gave as to the amount of drugs he administered that morning. Conrad Murray himself told the police that he gave Michael Jackson Propofol after 10AM. Dr Murray was concerned as he knew that Michael Jackson had to be awake in two hours’ time, at noon, to be ready for rehearsal. By this point Michael wanted to be knocked out completely and Murray knew he would sleep past noon. The 25 mg’s Conrad Murray claims he gave Michael Jackson would have only lasted around 5 – 7 minutes.
The section from Murray’s police interview where he finds Michael not breathing was then played. Murray tells the police he does not call 911 straight away. This is the most basic common sense thing we are all taught to do as children. The only hope to save Michael Jackson’s life was to call 911 right away.
But Conrad Murray had other things on his mind. He wanted to protect Conrad Murray. Instead Conrad Murray calls Michael Amir Williams. He leaves a voicemail message. He could have used this time, or earlier, to call 911. But he didn’t. He knew what he had done.
Conrad Murray may have been panicking and praying for a miracle but he is intentionally delaying calling for help which may have saved Michael Jackson’s life.
The exact time when Michael stopped breathing will never been known as Conrad Murray was out of the room using his phone. “How long Michael Jackson had been in that condition, we'll never know. Was Conrad Murray in another room, did Michael Jackson call out for help, gasp, and make sounds? We'll never know because of the neglect, the negligence of Conrad Murray”.
Self-protection
When Michael Amir Williams contacted Alberto Alverez and told him to go to the bedroom he was told by Conrad Murray to grab the bag with the bottle in it. He was not told to grab the other saline bag. Alberto Alverez thought he was trying to help save Michael Jackson. Only after hiding this away did Dr Murray tell Alverez to phone 911, 20 minutes after Michael Jackson was found not breathing.
The paramedics took four minutes to arrive at the house. What other reason was there for the delay other than self-protection?
Paramedic Seneff told the court that he saw Conrad Murray alone in the room with a trash bag. On that day Conrad Murray was wearing “large loose cargo pants”. He could have removed evidence.
At the hospital he only told the doctors he had given Michael Jackson Lorazepam. He never mentioned Propofol. Conrad Murray stated he wanted to go back to the house to remove some cream. Was he really worried about a cream? Or was he aware there was still evidence in the house?
When Conrad Murray had his interview with police on the 27th June 2009 he believed they already knew that the bags containing the IV equipment and Propofol had been discovered. Conrad Murray went into that interview “ahead of the story”. Conrad Murray believed that the police already had evidence so wanted to put across his side of the story. He already knew what the toxicology report would show.
Every doctor that has acted as an expert in this case stated they would never do what Dr Murray did because it could lead to death. Propofol needs to be used in highly monitored settings, not in a bedroom without any of the necessary equipment or care.
Dr White
The defence used Dr White to present their theory on how Michael Jackson died but Dr White used “junk science”. Dr White presented himself as an expert and then stated that all of his simulations were created by Dr Ornalis. Dr White’s theories on Lorazepam and Propofol changed through the trial. His urine theory was based on an out of date study that he was not familiar with so could not comment on.
The Simon’s paper from 1988 was out-dated but the 2002 comments fit in with Dr Shafer’s scenario.
Guilty verdict
Michael Jackson trusted Conrad Murray with his life and Michael Jackson paid with his life. Conrad Murray left Prince, Paris and Blanket without a father. Conrad Murray deceived people, lied, obscured facts and acted with criminal neglect. Conrad Murray wasn’t looking out for Michael Jackson. Conrad Murray was looking out for Conrad Murray.
The People do not have to prove that Conrad Murray caused Michael Jackson’s death. The People only have to prove that Conrad Murray was a substantial cause. The events that occurred were not extraordinary or unforeseeable. Even if you believe the defence’s version of the facts, Conrad Murray is criminally guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Walgren then askd that the jury give a guilty verdict.
Defence closing statements
The defence then had the opportunity to present their closing argument. Chernoff started by stating that during these six weeks the prosecution have “absolutely failed to prove a crime”. The defence are not disputing negligence on Conrad Murray’s behalf. But the prosecution have to prove that the specific act of criminal negligence caused Michael Jackson’s death. We know that Conrad Murray immediately tried to revive Michael Jackson.
Propofol only lasts ten minutes. To keep it working you must use a drip. If Conrad Murray had injected Propofol like he said then there was never any danger to Michael Jackson. The prosecution have spent 5 weeks trying to prove there was a drip. Otherwise there was no danger to Michael Jackson. In their closing statement they never mentioned Dr Shafer, Alberto Alverez or Elissa Fleak as they didn’t mention the drip. “They want you to convict Conrad Murray on the actions of Michael Jackson.”
Alberto Alverez
Alberto Alverez was offered $500,000 for his story. Kai Chase’s story was worth $9000. Why is that? All he did was call 911. That is what he told the police on the 25th June. Two months later he told police that he called 911, comforted the children, tried to breathe life into MJ and that he hid evidence. His story became monumentally more compelling and valuable. Do you believe Alverez is not going to cash in? Alverez says what happened on the 25th June burns into him every day but it took him two months to talk to the police. Alverez isn’t even an associate of Conrad Murray. Why then would Dr Murray trust Alverez to hide vials and bags?
Alberto Alverez stated that he put Michael Jackson on the floor with Conrad Murray. When the 911 call was played in court you saw Alverez’s face as it showed this isn’t what happened. Alverez’s fingerprints were not on the saline bag he says he hid even though the fingerprints were identifiable. He also said there was a milky substance in the bag. The bag tested clear. There was nothing in it. Alverez said he did CPR before the paramedics arrived. Paramedic Senneff stated when he arrived Michael Jackson was on the bed and no one was doing CPR.
Chernoff then told the jury that Alverez’s timeline of events was wrong. It was too short a time to do all the things he said he did. Alverez stated he was efficient but that is wrong. It is impossible. He lied. This is the foundation of the bottle in a bag theory.
Bottle in the bag
The problem with this theory is that Elissa Fleak never mentioned the bottle in a bag in her notes she didn’t destroy and took no photographs of it. The first time she mentioned it was in January 2011 in the preliminary hearing for this trial.
The defence called witnesses Detective Smith and Detective Martinez. They took lots of notes and conducted a very good investigation. Detective Smith said there was no bottle in a bag that he saw. He didn’t see it because it wasn’t there.
The prosecution need a drip because if Conrad Murray did what he said then there was no danger to Michael Jackson. It doesn’t matter if you leave the room. ”Dr Murray did not kill Michael Jackson”.
How do we explain that Conrad Murray didn’t need to put the bottle in the bag as there is a tag to hang onto an IV stand? It would be ridiculous and absurd to put the bottle into cut saline bag. He just needed to hang it.
Dr Shafer is an advocate
The prosecution hired Dr Shafer instead of the coroner’s office or the police to talk about the scene. The prosecution wanted Dr Shafer to solve the crime. Shafer stated he didn’t have an agenda and worked backwards in the timeline to get his scenario. But I want to defend Dr White. Experts are scientist. They don’t take positions. Dr Shafer was not a scientist. He was trying to prove a point. Dr White was completely honest when he wasn’t qualified to answer something. If Dr White wanted to be an advocate he would have been. The prosecution said Dr White used to be an expert but not now. But Dr White knows more about Propofol then Dr Shafer will ever know.
Dr Shafer did lots of simulations that had nothing to do with the case. The only relevant one was requested by defence. When you work backwards you could have one million different versions. He wanted to make out that he had looked at every possible angle.
Dr Shafer came up with a theory that Conrad Murray had given Michael Jackson 10 shots of Lorazepam. Dr Shafer only came up with this as there was an empty bottle of Lorazepam at the scene. He then decided 10 shots every 30 minutes would get the results where they needed to be. After 4 shots Michael Jackson couldn’t feel painful stimulation. Why would Murray than give 5 more shots [N.B this is an error. It should be 6]. Using Dr Shafer’s timeframe the first couple of shots would have been when Michael Jackson wasn’t even at the house. The next day Dr Shafer said he made a mistake and changed it to 9 shots.
The prosecution keep mentioning that it was 1/26th of pill or 1/300th of a pill as if you don’t understand that pills dissolve and go into the body. If there is any in the stomach then it proves Michael Jackson swallowed Lorazepam. Dr Shafer didn’t do an oral Lorazepam simulation as it wouldn’t help the prosecution. He is an advocate.
There are two reasonable scenarios in this trial and the jury have to go for acquittal. One is that Conrad Murray gave 10 doses of Lorazepam (such as Dr Shafer’s theory) or that Michael Jackson got up and went to his stash of tablets and took Lorazepam when Conrad Murray was out of the room. What is more reasonable to you? The prosecution are asking you to send down Conrad Murray for the actions of Michael Jackson.
If this wasn’t Michael Jackson there wouldn’t be a trial
Someone has to tell the truth. If this was anyone but Michael Jackson the doctor wouldn’t be here today. You have met Conrad Murray’s patients. You know what he did for those people.
The prosecution have shown negligence on Conrad Murray’s behalf. But was it criminal negligence? Was it direct cause of Michael Jackson’s death?
David Walgren is going to have to say that the drip theory was bad and it didn’t work. He has to say this because he is not going to say Conrad Murray was wearing baggy pants and took one IV tube from the house but left behind all the bottles and bags.
It is easy in hindsight to say you would do things differently. Dr Murray will have to walk through the rest of his life always painted as a villain. The prosecution’s doctors have never been in Conrad Murray’s shoes so it is easy to make their statements. You can judge Conrad Murray by what he did but not by his motives. Conrad Murray thought he could help Michael Jackson sleep normally. He was wrong. Because Conrad Murray had no control over the situation because of what was happening in the background. He was a “little fish in big dirty pond.”
911 call
The prosecution say it is bizarre what Conrad Murray did with the 911 call. If you are a doctor in private residence and you find your patient not breathing and you have no idea why would you first pick up a phone and call 911? Dr Murray immediately tried CPR. When it didn’t work he injected Flumazenil (to reverse the effects of the Lorazepam. There is not antidote to Propofol). This didn’t work so Dr Murray ran to get help and tells Kai Chase to get security. I am going to tell you now that Conrad Murray didn’t ask Kai Chase to get Prince. But Chase got Prince and said there is something wrong with your father. She only needed to get security. That is what Conrad Murray was expecting.
If Conrad Murray had called 911 right away it would have been 7 minutes before help arrived. Should Conrad Murray just have stood over Michael Jackson for all that time?
The prosecution say that Conrad Murray didn’t give good CPR as it was on a bed. Should he have dragged Michael off of the bed? The purpose of CPR is to provide compression and ventilation. Ventilation has nothing to do with if Michael Jackson was on the bed. Conrad Murray is 240 pounds. He had one hand under Michael’s back and one on Michael’s front. Was there insufficient compression? There is no evidence of this. The American Heart Association tells you to do CPR where you find the patient. No one wants to tell the jury this.
Conrad Murray has to go down
Why does everything Conrad Murray do have to be a deviation of care? They say there was insufficient ventilation because he didn’t use an ambubag. But you have seen there was an ambubag out and on floor.
It is a deviation of care because Conrad Murray has to go down.
The prosecution doesn’t want to tell you that in this trial you saw witnesses that didn’t need to testify, such as people who Conrad Murray called. You were shown photos of his children. There was no need to do that other than to prove it is heart-breaking. They stated there was gallons of Propofol, but there needed to be for what Conrad Murray was doing to Michael Jackson.
There is a desire to paint a perfect villain and a perfect victim. This doesn’t exist. This isn’t a TV show. It is not a reality TV show, it is reality.
When Conrad Murray wanted to leave the hospital to remove some creams from the house that Michael Jackson was worried about Michael Amir Williams put Mr Jackson’s house on lockdown. Was Michael Amir Williams so worried about this cream that he shut down the house? It was a trio of Michael Amir Williams, Alberto Alverez and Faheem Mohammad that created the cream story.
Frank DiLeo
Chernoff then played the voicemail from Frank DiLeo to the court. DiLeo told Conrad Murray needed to test Michael Jackson to see what he was doing. But it was not what Michael Jackson was doing but rather what was being done to him that was the problem. Michael Jackson was under huge pressure from AEG. And they were unhappy about his visits to Dr Klein and him missing rehearsals. Kenny Ortega said to Randy Phillips we should threaten to pull plug on the show. You can sense what Michael Jackson was going through. Michael Jackson compartmentalised these issues. He was visiting Dr Arnold Klein almost every day.
Let’s look at what Conrad Murray did. You cannot agree that giving Propofol in a home is appropriate, which is what Conrad Murray did for 60 days [N.B. this is an error. Should be 80 days]. But he gave a drug to a patient for a specific medical condition. Not Demerol, not drugs to fuel addiction. If Conrad Murray was inclined to do this he would have done it.
Michael Jackson self-administered Propofol
The crux of this case is that the prosecution believes that Conrad Murray should be responsible for Michael Jackson self-administering Propofol. Dr Steinberg said something aggravating. He said Conrad Murray’s treatment of Michael Jackson was like “a baby on a countertop”. This is deeply insulting to Michael Jackson, saying he was unable to make decisions for himself. Michael Jackson knew exactly what he was doing. He was a 50 year old man. At what point do you draw the line of responsibility for an adult?
This is a touchy thing to say, no one wants to say it, but if it wasn’t Michael Jackson this wouldn’t have gone to trial. In a psychiatric hospital if a patient breaks into a cabinet and kills themself the doctor doesn’t go on trial. Don’t make Conrad Murray responsible because it is Michael Jackson. ”Do the right thing and find Dr Murray not guilty.”
Prosecution rebuttal argument
After hearing the defence’s closing argument the prosecution are entitled to a rebuttal argument as it is the prosecution’s role to prove Conrad Murray is guilty and respond to the defence’s closing argument.
David Walgren told the jury we are here for one reason and one reason only: the actions and non-actions of Conrad Murray. The cameras are here for Michael Jackson but we are here for Conrad Murray and his grossly negligent actions that killed Michael Jackson.
What Conrad Murray did has never been done before. No one administers Propofol outside a hospital setting. This is not just a deviation, this is criminal gross negligence. A doctor using an agent that causes respiratory arrest if not administered properly, done by one man with no proper monitoring or lifesaving equipment. This is bizarre, unethical behaviour.
Murray’s former patients
Walgren believes that the former patients of Conrad Murray that testified really do believe what they said about Conrad Murray, that he was a wonderful doctor. But they were all treated in hospitals with other medical personnel present and appropriate equipment. This is in stark contrast to what Michael Jackson received from Conrad Murray. Also Michael Jackson was not being treated for a heart condition. He was being treated for insomnia, something Conrad Murray knows nothing about.
Murray’s former patients did get good care but this has nothing to do with the lack of care Michael Jackson received.
“Poor Conrad Murray”
The defence want to talk about “poor Conrad Murray. Everyone is working against him”. The defence have blamed Alberto Alverez, Michael Amir Williams, Kai Chase, AEG, Elissa Fleak, Faheem Mohammad – everyone except Conrad Murray. Poor Conrad Murray.
When the defence called Rubin to the stand they asked about Conrad Murray’s demeanour. Rubin’s stated Conrad Murray was upset. Because it is all about Conrad Murray grieving. Poor Conrad Murray. The People then asked Rubin about grieving and what he witnessed. Seeing Dr Cooper going in to the room to tell Mrs Jackson that she had lost her son.
Poor Conrad Murray. “I am sure he is grieving. He is responsible for taking the life of a man through his gross negligence”
The defence have stated that the prosecution witnesses are lying, that Dr Shafer is a cop. Conrad Murray didn’t call 911 but they blame the chef and say that she is responsible. If they had more time they would have blamed Michael Jackson’s son, Prince.
Everyone is to blame except Conrad Murray.
If Alberto Alverez wanted to pin the case on Conrad Murray he could have created a better story than a bottle in a saline bag.
Bizarre
Everything Conrad Murray did in his treatment was bizarre. He waited 20 minutes to get someone to call 911. That is bizarre. He gave Propofol in a bedroom for 2 months. That is bizarre. He lied to paramedics and doctors at UCLA hospital. That is bizarre. Does it surprise you he would have bizarre IV set up?
None of this is consistent with a trained medical doctor who is putting the patient first.
Is it Michael Jackson’s fault Conrad Murray left him alone in the room? Yes Michael Jackson did seek Propofol but there is a list of doctors who said no. There is one who said yes for $150,000 a month. Poor Conrad Murray.
Michael Jackson is dead and we have to hear about poor Conrad Murray. No doctor knows what it is like to be in his shoes. That is because no doctor would ever do what Conrad Murray did. Even defence experts have stated this.
Dr Shafer
Dr Shafer did not speak about the urine samples at it is “junk science”. The simulations that the defence ridiculed had been rejected by Dr Shafer. Dr Shafer told the court that oral ingestion of Lorazepam was possible, just not at 10AM as the defence state. It is impossible due to absorption and science. But it could have happened earlier. We don’t know if this happened. Dr White told us it was when Conrad Murray was out of the room again.
Conrad Murray has a legal duty of care to monitor and ensure the safety of his patient. This is a legal duty. No matter what the setting is.
Conrad Murray administered Propofol. If Conrad Murray hadn’t abandoned Michael Jackson, or had a pulse oximeter with alarm, this wouldn’t have happened.
Administering Propofol in a bedroom could cause death. This is a fact. Propofol affects patients in different ways due to variables and because of this there is a need to have safety precautions in place. It is foreseeable and predictable that things could go wrong. Dr Shafer would not leave patient alone if patient liked to push the syringe in that scenario. This makes the risk of death a natural and probably cause.
The defence say Alberto Alverez lied. Couldn’t he just have said Conrad Murray was hiding bottles or Conrad Murray fell asleep? There is no evidence Alverez had any animosity against Conrad Murray. This has been a nightmare for Alberto Alverez. Elissa Fleak also told the court she found a bottle of Propofol in a saline bag. What is her role in this trial? What reason would she have to lie?
The defence state that Dr Shafer has an agenda. Yet Dr Shafer gave all his software to the defence so they could use it. He also made scenarios at the defence’s request. In court Dr Shafer said with a roller clamp Michael Jackson might have taken it off and killed himself. That is not someone with an agenda.
Michael Jackson was given a night of benzodiazepines and Propofol and then was abandoned to look after himself.
The defence state that Alberto Alverez’s fingerprints not on the saline bag. Well Michael Jackson’s fingerprints were not on the syringe. You don’t always get fingerprints. But we do have a fingerprint of Conrad Murray’s on the 100 ml bottle of Propofol that was hidden in a bag.
Lies
Think about the lies Conrad Murray told in this case. He told Kenny Ortega that Michael Jackson was in perfect health. This was not true. He said the same to Paul Gongaware. To Randy Phillips he said that Michael Jackson was in great health. In an email he told Bob Taylor that media issues about Michael Jackson’s heath were not true. He lied to the paramedics when Conrad Murray wilfully denied them information, to the doctor’s at UCLA when he wilfully lied about times and the drugs he had administered. This was not overlooked, that is insult to the jury’s intelligence. Conrad Murray must have lied to Michael Jackson when he said he would be safe. Conrad Murray claimed he asked for an autopsy and for there to be support for the family. This was a lie. There are standard practise at UCLA.
Conrad Murray told Katherine Jackson he didn’t know what had happened to Michael.
Poor Conrad Murray.
The law is clear on causation. If Michael Jackson self-administered is not an unseen occurrence. Conrad Murray said Michael Jackson had a dependency on this drug, he liked to push it. Conrad Murray gave Michael Jackson Vallium, Midazolam, Lorazepam, Propofol and then abandoned him. The People cannot prove exactly what happened behind closed doors. Michael Jackson could give answers but he is dead.
Actions speak louder than words
You know what was happening every night and the volume of Propofol orders. You know Michael Jackson died from Propofol intoxication. It was a natural consequence. This is why you don’t give Propofol in a bedroom. It was not unusual that Michael Jackson died; it was unusual Michael Jackson lived as long as he did under Conrad Murray’s care.
If Conrad Murray felt so deeply for Michael Jackson then I say this: actions speak louder than words.
What Conrad Murray did was continue Propofol and benzodiazepines when he knew what it was doing to Michael Jackson. He knew on May 10th when he recorded the drugged up recording.
This was a relationship based on trust. Michael Jackson trusted his life into the hands of Conrad Murray. Conrad Murray brought Propofol into the house. He administered Propofol. He abandoned the patient. He had no monitoring equipment, no backup personnel. He failed to call 911. He is criminally liable for the death of Michael Jackson. Not because it is Michael Jackson but because Conrad Murray acted with criminal negligence. He was a substantial factor in the death of Michael Jackson. And I ask you to consider all the evidence in this case and apply the law that the judge gave you, to work together and go through the evidence and you will find that whether Conrad Murray was criminally negligent is not that complicated. This medical care has never been seen. It was an experiment in a bedroom.
“I trust and ask you to return with the only right verdict and the only just verdict. I ask you return with a verdict of guilty of involuntary manslaughter based on Conrad Murray’s actions and his alone.”
Judge Pastor
Judge Pastor then told the jurors how they can go about deciding the verdict. A sheriff was then sworn in to ensure the jury kept together.
Summary
This was the final opportunity for both parties to put their cases forward. I believe they both gave compelling arguments. I was impressed with Ed Chernoff as, although he is still bumbled his way through his statement, he did put forward a case that the jury will have to discuss. He raised some points that certain made me stop and think twice.
On the other hand David Walgren once again proved how superb a lawyer he is. His arguments were compelling, recalled a lot of evidence and his argument was highly emotive to try to sway the jury. I think many of the issues that Ed Chernoff put forward that made me have some doubts were then answered by Walgren’s excellent recall.
I believe ultimately Conrad Murray is guilty because as a doctor he should be putting the patients’ health and wellbeing before anything. This includes refusing treatments that are not appropriate, even if the patient asks for them.
Of course if Conrad Murray had told Michael he would not do this procedure then Michael would have hired someone else to do it. There is no doubt about this. But this didn’t happen. Conrad Murray did take the job and in the process went from being a doctor to an employee. Conrad Murray always had the option to walk away. But the pull of a once in a lifetime opportunity and huge sums of money was too much for Murray to say no to.
I feel Conrad Murray must take responsibility for his ill thought out actions and admit that it was reckless to administer Propofol in a home. Not only was the set up dangerous it was also inappropriate to leave Jackson unmonitored. I believe this alone is enough to convict Murray over but we still then need to take into account the actions he took after he found Michael not breathing. It is unacceptable to wait 20 minutes to call 911. And the fact that he acted like a guilty man by hiding evidence and then ultimately incriminating himself in the interview he asked to hold with police to me proves he knew what he did was wrong.
In my first report on this case I stated I believed that the deciding factor for the jury will be whether they believe that a doctor must act in the patients best interest, and ethically, no matter what the circumstance or the amount they are being paid or whether they believe that if a patient knows the risks and still insists on the treatment then the doctor is less responsible if thing are to go wrong. I feel the closing statements by both teams at their core were fighting this argument. Chernoff gave an analogy about at what point does an adult become responsible for their actions? If a patient in a hospital were to break into a cabinet and steal drugs and then overdose the doctor would not be held accountable. Walgren then stated that it is a doctor’s legal duty to put the patient’s well fair first. It is evident that Murray’s actions were grossly negligent and were a substantial cause in Michael Jackson’s death.
Could this be too little too late for the defence? Or it is a case that no matter what Conrad Murray is ultimately responsible because he left Michael Jackson unattended in an unorthodox, and dangerous, situation?
It is now in the hands of the jury to decide the fate of Conrad Murray and to close the final chapter in Michael Jackson’s life.
It is now a waiting game that depends on how long the jury need to deliberate.
Sophie Dewing
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