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Michael
Jackson's
doctor
sentenced
to 4
years
By
ANTHONY
McCARTNEY
AP
Entertainment
Writer
LOS
ANGELES
(AP) --
The
doctor
convicted
in the
overdose
death of
Michael
Jackson
was
sentenced
to the
maximum
four
years
behind
bars
Tuesday
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
defense
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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