LAST night was a sense of déjà vu for television viewers in the United States and on the rolling UK news networks. The wall-to-wall coverage of the ‘trial of the 21st century’ came to a conclusion. However, unlike O.J Simpson in 1995, there was not a ‘no guilty’ verdict. Conrad Murray, the doctor of the legendary pop star Michael Jackson was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in relation to the singer’s tragic death in June 2009.
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| SILENT: Conrad Murray remained unmoved throughout the verdict |
It was a guilty verdict from all 12 jurors as the six week trial concluded yesterday; the final outcome not surprising many in the US or journalists around the world. The always opinionated Piers Morgan gave his thoughts on Twitter; “Whichever way you viewed the evidence, #ConradMurray’s behaviour was clearly unethical for a doctor. Right verdict! Murray has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on November 29 where he faces upto four years in jail and almost inevitably, the removal of his medical certificates so he can practice in the future.
Throughout the verdict at the Los Angeles superior court yesterday, Murray remained very pensive and showed no sign of emotion when hearing his fate from the jury. Outside the court, fans of Michael Jackson reacted in delight at the verdict. Throughout the trial, Murray’s stance was that on the fateful day when Jackson died in 2009, he had taken the fatal overdose of the drug propofol without any consent. Last week, Murray’s defence team announced that he would not testify himself at the trial. The prosecution’s argument was that Jackson had died after Murray had administered him an IV drip infused with propofol. They also believed that Jackson was fully aware of his medication levels and he could get easily addicted to painkillers, especially as he was busy at the time preparing for the London farewell concert gigs at the O2 Arena later that year.
However, it seemed like the prosecution had a stronger case. A number of witnesses had agreed to testify and these included Jackson’s former bodyguard, who told the court that Murray had told him to hide drug vials. Alberto Alvarez claimed to have trusted Murray’s actions as a doctor, but told the court that Murray had told him to put vials of medicine into a bag before calling an ambulance. Alvarez was the first person to discover Jackson unconscious on that fateful day. They also used pictures of some damming contents inside Jackson’s home, including a syringe in his bedroom and other items such as a saline bag and a bottle of propofol in evidence against Murray.
This verdict might finally give Michael Jackson’s family the belief that justice has been done. For Conrad Murray, a very dark time awaits the doctor, whose actions have not only seen him lose his medical career and his reputation, but sees him face time for what he has done.
