Dr Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter at the Michael Jackson trial on Monday morning in Los Angeles. The Jurors decision was unanimous and the Doctor will now serve up to 4 years in prison and will be stripped of his medical licence.
The Jury went into deliberations on Friday before resuming on Monday morning when a verdict was reached at around 11am (California time) and the guilty verdict was announced at 1pm (California time).
Michael Jackson’s family including La Toya, Jermaine, Randy and his parents rushed to the court after hearing the verdict had been reached. They had been staying in a motel at Calabasas, which is around 45 minutes from the courthouse.
Watch: The Verdict
The Jury consisted of 7 men and 5 women and included an actor and a TV animator, some members of the jury had admitted they were fans of Michael Jackson’s music while a number of members were also interested in crime TV. For a full run down on the Jurors including age and professions visit Botson.com.
Both lawyers gave their closing statements last Thursday before the jury went into deliberations . The prosecution argued that greed lead Murray to inject a large dose of the anaesthetic propofol, which lead to the death of Michael Jackson, while the defence suggested that Michael Jackson was a drug addict, desperate for sleep and had in fact injected the drug himself against the advice of the Doctor.
Prosecutor David Walgren said in closing:
The evidence is overwhelming. The evidence is abundantly clear that he (Conrad Murray) acted in gross negligence in the death of Michael Jackson… He violated that sacred trust each and every day premised on that hallowed trust between a doctor and a patient…justice demands a guilty verdict.
Defence lawyer Ed Chernoff said:
For a crime to be proved, the prosecution has to show that Dr Murray actually killed Michael Jackson…They want you to convict Dr Murray for the actions of Michael Jackson … If it were anybody else but Michael Jackson, would this doctor be here today?
If you are going to hold Dr Murray responsible, don’t do it because it’s Michael Jackson. This is not a reality show. This is reality.
Michael Jackson’s sister, Janet Jackson, is currently touring Australia and she cancelled shows in Melbourne two weeks ago to fly home and be with her family throughout the trial. She flew back last week to continue the tour, however she cancelled her show at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday night just one hour before the show, citing a need for vocal rest. She is due to play at the Sydney Opera House again tonight, but considering the circumstances there are doubts now as to whether the show will still go ahead.
