Jury decides: Michael's doctor gets up to 4 years.
Cardiologist Conrad Murray was convicted today in Los Angeles of involuntary manslaughter (without intent to kill); sentence of up to four years in prison; final sentence on the 29th; Jackson died on June 25, 2009, under anesthesia with propofol.
A jury in a Los Angeles court decided on Monday that Conrad Murray, the doctor of pop star Michael Jackson, is responsible for the involuntary manslaughter (when there is no intent to kill) of the singer, who died on June 25, 2009, at age 50. The jury sentenced the doctor to four years in prison, but the final sentence is expected to be announced on November 29.
The jury reached a verdict after just under nine hours of deliberations. Prosecutors portrayed Murray as a negligent and irresponsible doctor who abandoned the star while he was under the deadly effects of the anesthetic propofol.
Lawyers for cardiologist Murray claimed that the star was addicted to the drug and killed himself by secretly taking a fatal dose of the anesthetic. Murray agreed to be Jackson's personal physician when the singer was preparing for a series of concerts in 2009 that would mark his return to the stage.
Murray did not testify during the trial, but admitted to police on the morning of the singer's death that he prescribed propofol and other sedatives to the star. This information comes from the Associated Press.