Attorneys made final arguments on Thursday in the case against the physician of the pop icon Michael Jackson, who died suddenly two years ago at the age of 50. Dr. Conrad Murray is accused of involuntary manslaughter in the singer's death, a charge he denies. Jurors must decide whether Murray gave Jackson a fatal dose of a powerful anesthetic.
Prosecutors say Dr. Murray caused Jackson's death by administering a lethal combination of sedatives and the powerful anesthetic propofol, which they say the singer used to help him sleep. A series of witness said propofol should only be used in the operating room, under strict monitoring.
Prosecutors say Jackson received increasing amounts of sedatives, prescribed under false names. They accuse Murray of delaying a call for help and of lying to doctors and paramedics.
Murray's lawyers presented character witnesses, including Lunette Sampson.
“I have never had a doctor who was more caring, never,” Sampson said.
Murray did not testify in his own defense. That avoided a probing cross examination, says legal analyst Dana Cole.
“He would have had a lot of explaining on all sorts of aspects of misconduct that he just didn't want to go through it,” Cole said.
Defense witnesses, including propofol medication expert Paul White, left open the possibility that Jackson could have injected himself with the drug, clearing his doctor of blame.
