Dr. Conrad Murray Found Guilty

Quote:

It was a trial about a doctor's negligent act wherein the result was someone died.

Leaving aside "negligence", which I would dispute, it was this doctor and not many another whose real negligence, incompetence and stupidity resulted in a death, a paralysis or a mental wrecking.

A drug with the dangers you are saying Probofol carries would, here, be subject to stringent controls. Every drop would have to be signed for, accounted for and the use justified. It seems to be swilling around in your state controlled situation to the extent that people, even off duty anesthetists, are shooting it up for fun.

The state seems to me to have so recklessly disregarded the medical standard of care that should accompany administration of this drug that it was an abuse of its subjects

For general anesthesia or monitored anesthesia care (MAC) sedation, Propofol Injectable Emulsion should be administered only by persons trained in the administration of general anesthesia and not involved in the conduct of the surgical/diagnostic procedure. Sedated patients should be continuously monitored, and facilities for maintenance of a patent airway, providing artificial ventilation, administering supplemental oxygen, and instituting cardiovascular resuscitation must be immediately available. Patients should be continuously monitored for early signs of hypotension, apnea, airway obstruction, and/or oxygen desaturation. These cardiorespiratory effects are more likely to occur following rapid bolus administration, especially in the elderly, debilitated, or ASA-PS III or IV patients.http://www.drugs.com/pro/propofol.html

One man says "no" and then allows Mr White to blurt pure sentimental shite across his courtroom.

Jackson Doctor defends self in NBC broadcasts
LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent
Wednesday, November 9, 2011

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The doctor convicted of killing Michael Jackson never testified at his trial, but he is now defending himself in multiple NBC interviews taped just days before a jury returned his guilty verdict.

NBC's "Today" show planned to broadcast interviews with Dr. Conrad Murray in which he defends his use of the surgical anesthetic propofol to put Jackson to sleep. Although multiple experts testified at his trial that propofol should not have been administered in Jackson's home, the doctor disagreed.

"I think propofol is not recommended to be given in the home setting," Murray said, "but it is not contraindicated."

He also said Jackson had been using the substance long before the pop star met Murray.

The interview with the Houston cardiologist, who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter Monday, is set to air Thursday and Friday. NBC released excerpts of the interview Wednesday.

Under questioning by the "Today" show's Savannah Guthrie, Murray said it was not necessary for him to monitor Jackson because he had given him only a small dose of propofol, and he said that was the reason he didn't mention it to paramedics when they arrived at Jackson's mansion.

"That's a very sad reason," he said, "because it was inconsequential — 25 milligrams and the effect's gone. Means nothing."

Guthrie asked, "Well, you told them about the other drugs, but you didn't tell them about propofol?"

"Because it had no effect," Murray said. "It was not an issue."

The coroner would subsequently find that Jackson, 50, died of "acute propofol intoxication" after a huge dose of the drug complicated by other sedatives.

Murray's defense tried to show that Jackson gave himself an extra dose of propofol while Murray was out of the room, but prosecution experts said there was no evidence of that and it was a crazy theory.

Asked by Guthrie if he became distracted by phone calls, emailing and text messages, Murray said, "No I was not."

"When I looked at a man who was all night deprived of sleep, who was desperate for sleep and finally is getting some sleep, am I gonna sit over him, sit around him, tug on his feet, do anything unusual to wake him up? No," Murray said.

"You walked out of the room to talk on the phone?" Guthrie asked.

"Absolutely, I wanted him to rest."

He insisted Jackson was not on an infusion that would stop his breathing and, "I was not supposed to be monitoring him at that time because there was no need for monitoring."

Other doctors testified at Murray's trial that leaving a patient alone after giving him an anesthetic was an egregious deviation from the standard of care expected of a physician.

In one exchange, Murray suggested that had he known that Jackson had a problem with addiction to medications he might have acted differently. Experts testified that he should have researched Jackson's medical history before he undertook his treatment for insomnia.

On the day Jackson died, June 25, 2009, Murray said he believed he had weaned the singer off of propofol, the drug Jackson called his "milk."

But when Jackson could not sleep, Murray told "Today," he gave the entertainer a very small dose of propofol.

In retrospect, he said he probably should have walked away when Jackson asked for propofol. But he said he would have been abandoning a friend.

Meanwhile, the disclosure that MSNBC will air a documentary about Murray brought outrage Wednesday from the executors of Jackson's estate, who said Murray is getting a prime-time platform to smear Jackson's reputation without fear of cross-examination.

The executors, John Branca and John McClain, demanded the program entitled "Michael Jackson and the Doctor: A Fatal Friendship" be cancelled. The network said it had no comment.

Murray, 58, was hired by Jackson at a promised salary of $150,000 a month to accompany the singer on his "This Is It" concert tour to London.

A jury that heard six weeks of testimony convicted Murray of involuntary manslaughter. He is now being held in Los Angeles County Jail awaiting sentencing Nov. 29 and could face up to four years in prison.
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Jackson-Doctor-defends-self-in-NBC-broadcasts-2259928.php

Did British documentary pay for Murray's costly defense?

Michael Jackson's physician, convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the singer's death, was deeply in debt when he began working for Jackson. NBC purchased the film for broadcast this weekend.
By Harriet Ryan and James Rainey, Los Angeles Times
November 10, 2011

The verdict is in, the jury has been dismissed, and Dr. Conrad Murray sits behind bars, but one question about the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor remains: Who paid for the defense?

Speculation about how the cash-strapped physician funded an expansive legal team focused Wednesday on a British documentary made with Murray's cooperation and purchased recently by NBC for broadcast on its cable network MSNBC this weekend. Representatives of Jackson's estate demanded the network cancel the program, entitled "Michael Jackson and the Doctor: A Fatal Friendship," in part because of unanswered questions about whether Murray was compensated for giving filmmakers interviews and allowing camera crews to follow him and his lawyers.

"We would like to know how much money in total was paid for this privileged 'access,' " estate co-executors John Branca and John McClain wrote in a letter Wednesday to executives at NBC, MSNBC and its parent company, Comcast. "It doesn't matter to us if it was a production company, Comcast, NBC Universal or MSNBC that paid for access to Dr. Murray because all are morally culpable."

Murray was in debt close to $800,000 on the day Jackson died and his financial circumstances worsened in the months that followed as intense media coverage hurt his ability to earn money as a cardiologist. But after signing a deal with a British producer in 2009, he was able to assemble a defense team that included four attorneys, a jury consultant, a publicist, and a host of medical experts. He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Monday.

Those involved in the documentary refused to discuss details of the deal with Murray. They repeatedly reiterated a statement by October Films, the London-based production company, that it paid only a nominal $1 fee to Murray. Left unaddressed, though, were questions about whether the doctor received a portion of fees paid by television outlets in Britain, Australia and at least 10 other countries that will air the program.

The circumstances surrounding the documentary raise a host of thorny issues, including how carefully NBC investigated the provenance of a film that offered exclusive interviews and footage in a highly competitive news story, and whether the doctor violated a court-imposed gag order, even as he shielded from his own lawyers the extent of his cooperation with the filmmakers.

In the final days of his manslaughter trial, Murray sat for wide-ranging interviews about Jackson's death with NBC and a British outlet as part of the documentary package those networks purchased. Murray's criminal attorneys said they were never told of the interviews, given despite their warnings about "the dangers of talking about June 25th" — the day the singer died

"They just didn't tell me because they know I'd freak out," said lead defense attorney Ed Chernoff, who said he learned of the interviews the morning after the verdict when portions aired on NBC.

Murray, who decided not to take the stand in his own defense, is in jail pending sentencing later this month and could not be reached for comment.

All payments to Murray's lawyers came directly from the doctor, not the filmmakers, Chernoff said. He acknowledged telling Murray shortly after they met that financial resources were crucial to a court case in which the prosecution seemed to have an unlimited budget for forensic experts and investigators.

"I told him early and I told him often that the only way he was going to be able to defend himself was to have money. He had to fund his case or he would never be able to defend himself," Chernoff said.

At the time Murray's Las Vegas home was in foreclosure. He was behind on child support and student loan payments. He owed money to credit companies and a medical equipment supplier. And because Jackson never signed his contract, Murray never received any of the $150,000-a month fee he was supposed to get as the singer's personal physician.

Subsequently, Murray was approached by Leon Lecash, a British photographer turned entrepreneur whose ventures included a butler service that, according to one press report, "promises to solve any problem." Lecash was among hundreds of outlets begging Murray for an interview, but according to the doctor's former publicist, Miranda Sevcik, Lecash's company – what's it all about? productions – was the only one willing to delay broadcast until after a verdict.

"This was the only group that approached us that agreed to that caveat — until all litigation was complete," Sevcik said.

Camera crews began trailing Murray to church, his charity clinic in Houston and meetings with his lawyers. Chernoff said he sought advice from the California State Bar before agreeing to be filmed. The doctor began providing him money, he said, but he never asked about the source.

"It wasn't pertinent to what I was doing," he said. Asked whether he assumed the money came from the documentary, Chernoff replied, "I can't say that because I don't know for sure."

Others on Murray's team said they agreed to be filmed, but purposefully avoided discussions about the documentary and Murray's deal with producers.

"I specifically asked not to be involved in any of the financial aspects," said defense publicist Mark Fierro.

Filming continued throughout the trial even after the judge issued a gag order barring lawyers from discussing the case outside of court.

In October, before the defense had even rested its case, the filmmakers began shopping the documentary to broadcast and cable networks. They wanted close to $500,000 for American rights, according to a source at a network that passed on the film, and were offering a sit-down interview with Murray. NBC bought the rights and began airing clips of Murray describing Jackson's last moments on "The Today Show" the morning after the verdict. The documentary is set to air on MSNBC on Friday night and again Sunday.

NBC declined to say what it paid the filmmakers, but said in a statement, "Neither Dr. Murray nor his legal defense were compensated in any way."

A network source added that October Films had assured NBC that no part of the licensing fee would make its way to the doctor or his lawyers. The network did not respond to follow-up questions, including whether it had asked if Murray was paid through Zodiak Rights, the British company handling international distribution.

Zodiak boasted in a news release the day Murray was convicted that the company had presold the documentary in more than a dozen countries, but the company did not respond to questions about whether any of the money had been passed on to Murray.

When pressed about why the deeply indebted physician — who initially demanded $5 million a year to work for Jackson — would have granted camera crews access for only $1, a publicist for October Films replied, "You have to look at Zodiak. You would need to talk to Zodiak Rights about the international rights."

Van Gordon Sauter, president of CBS News in the 1980s, said NBC's payment to the production company effectively paved the way for the exclusive interview with Murray, a practice frowned on by most mainstream news organizations.

"I don't know how you can look at that and not come to the conclusion that they were paying for the interview," said Sauter, who worked as a journalism professor and public television executive after leaving CBS. He said that practice is disdained because it makes news organizations appear to be in alliance with newsmakers, potentially encouraging subjects to embellish their stories.

"This doesn't strike me as something that's appropriate," Sauter said. "MSNBC is spending a lot of time talking [in promotions] about 'Leaning forward,' and I think this is tripping backward."

There is a long history of media outlets paying newsmakers, even notorious ones, for access. The man accused of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby was defended by an acclaimed lawyer, with payments coming from the Hearst Newspapers in exchange for exclusive access to the defendant, Bruno Richard Hauptmann.

Testimony in a hearing last year revealed that ABC had paid $200,000 to Casey Anthony, accused of murdering her daughter Caylee. The money reportedly went to "license" the use of the Anthony family's photos and videos and was available for Anthony's defense. After a wave of bad publicity, ABC said it would in the future not make such payments, which a network spokesman called an unnecessary "crutch" to good news gathering.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-1110-murray-doc-20111110,0,1614288,full.story

You are so full of "shite" and vacuous hot air, I can see no purpose in continuing to respond to your posts, which are more your personal reveries than any substantive discussion of this topic.

The defense had originally wanted to blame MJ's dermatologist as well, for giving MJ high doses of Demerol by injection which might have contributed to his insomnia, but, since MJ had no Demerol in his system at the time of his death, the judge would not allow that sort of evidence to be presented because it was irrelevant to the issue of Murray's guilt or innocence in causing MJ's death.

“I wouldn’t even consider it,” he added. "It's something no amount of money could convince me to take on."

"I told him early and I told him often that the only way he was going to be able to defend himself was to have money. He had to fund his case or he would never be able to defend himself," Chernoff said.

Aaah!! The farmerman method of debate.

No attempt to justify Mr White's speculations as to what he would have done as admissible evidence. No attempt to justify the judge's refusal to allow the defence to pursue a point they thought relevant. No attempt to justify the refusal of bail.

Testimony by expert witnesses is professional opinion, admissible and open to rebuttal.