Dr. Conrad Murray is shown in this Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department mug shot taken November 7, 2011, the day of his involuntary manslaughter conviction of Michael Jackson's death and released to the news media Nov. 29, 2011, the day Murray was handed a four year sentence for the death of of Jackson.
*Even though the doctor convicted in the overdose death of Michael Jackson was sentenced to the maximum four years behind bars Tuesday, Los Angeles Sheriff’s officials announced that Dr. Conrad Murray will only serve a little less than two years behind bars due to California’s Realignment Act.
The Sheriffs office also said Murray will be housed in a one-man cell and kept away from other prisoners.
Dr. Conrad Murray sits in court after he was sentenced to four years in county jail for his involuntary manslaughter conviction of pop star Michael Jackson in Los Angeles Nov. 29, 2011.
Dr. Conrad Murray sat stoically with his hands crossed as Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor repeatedly chastised him for what he called a “horrific violation of trust” while caring for Jackson. The judge also denounced him as a reckless physician whose actions were a “disgrace to the medical profession.”
However, Pastor conceded his sentence was constrained by a recent change in California law that requires Murray to serve his sentence in county jail rather than state prison.
“This is going to be a real test of our criminal justice system to see if it’s meaningful at all,” District Attorney Steve Cooley said.
Cooley said he was considering asking the judge to modify the sentence to classify the crime as a serious felony warranting incarceration in state prison.
Judge Michael Pastor speaks at the sentencing hearing of Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of manslaughter in the death of pop star Michael Jackson, in Los Angeles Nov. 29, 2011.
Meanwhile, the judge was relentless in his bashing of the 58-year-old Murray, saying he lied repeatedly and had not shown remorse for his actions in the treatment of Jackson. Pastor also said Murray’s heavy use of the powerful anesthetic propofol to help Jackson battle insomnia violated his sworn obligation.
“It should be made very clear that experimental medicine is not going to be tolerated, and Mr. Jackson was an experiment,” Pastor said. “Dr. Murray was intrigued by the prospect and he engaged in this money for medicine madness that is simply not going to be tolerated by me.”
Pastor also said Murray has “absolutely no sense of fault, and is and remains dangerous” to the community.
As previously reported, the judge said one of the most disturbing aspects of Murray’s case was a slurred recording of Jackson recovered from the doctor’s cell phone. “That tape recording was Dr. Murray’s insurance policy,” Pastor said. “It was designed to record his patient surreptitiously at that patient’s most vulnerable point.”
Conrad Murray's attorney J. Michael Flanagan talks with the media as he leaves the sentencing hearing of Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of manslaughter in the death of pop star Michael Jackson, in Los Angeles, California Nov. 29, 2011
Defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan said after the sentencing that he was surprised the judge focused on the recording. The lawyer also contended that nothing said during the hearing would have changed the judge’s mind about the sentence.
As reported, Michael Jackson’s family told Pastor in a statement read earlier that they were not seeking revenge but wanted Murray to receive a stiff sentence that served as a warning to opportunistic doctors. It also included elements from Jackson’s parents, siblings and his three children.
“As his brothers and sisters, we will never be able to hold, laugh or perform again with our brother Michael,” the statement said. “And as his children, we will grow up without a father, our best friend, our playmate and our dad.”
Michael Jackson's sister Rebbie Jackson makes comments and expresses her disappointment at the sentencing hearing of Dr. Conrad Murray
Randy Jackson arrives for the sentencing of Dr. Conrad Murray at the Los Angeles Superior Court on Nov. 29, 2011 in Los Angeles, California
The family told The Associated Press after the sentencing that they were pleased with the results.
“We’re going to be a family. We’re going to move forward. We’re going to tour, play the music and miss him,” brother Jermaine Jackson said.
Before sentencing, lead defense attorney Ed Chernoff attacked Jackson, as he and his team frequently did during the doctor’s trial. “Michael Jackson was a drug seeker,” he said.
Murray did not directly address the court. After sentencing, he mouthed the words “I love you” to his mother and girlfriend in the courtroom.
Dr. Conrad Murray blows a kiss to an unidentified member of the courtroom audience after he was sentenced to four years in county jail for his involuntary manslaughter conviction of pop star Michael Jackson, in Los Angeles Nov. 29, 2011
Murray’s mother, Milta Rush, sat alone on a bench in the courthouse hallway after the sentencing.
“My son is not what they charged him to be,” she said quietly. “He was a gentle child from the time he was small. ”
Of her son’s future, she said, “God is in charge.”
In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors cited Murray’s statements to advocate for the maximum term. They also want him to pay restitution to the singer’s three children — Prince, Paris and Blanket. The exact amount Murray has to pay will be determined at a hearing scheduled for Jan. 23.
“Anything over a couple of dollars, he’s not going to be able to pay anyway,” Flanagan said.
Murray was deeply in debt when he agreed to serve as Jackson’s personal physician for $150,000 a month, and the singer died before Murray received any money.
Things are not always clear cut. There is a bit of true in everything. In the bizarre world of Michael Jackson we may never know what’s true and what’s false with absolute certitude. The bottom line is, whether you are rich or poor, free or in jail, we all try to live another day and the “situation” we are in becomes our world; we adapt. Michael failed at that, surely he was like a great dinosaur, and like the dinosaurs he became extinct because he couldn’t adapt. Dr. Murray is not the only greedy person in the never-ending MJ saga. Greed… this is the crooked timber of humanity. In the crux of this drama I would like to jump from that into another shameful exploitation of MJ. A line of perfumes dedicated to Michael is about to be launched by Joe Jackson and a professional scam-artist who is much spookier than Dr. Murray, Julian Franck Rouas. This story will make your eyes curl up in the back of your head when you’ll read about the psychologically malevolent Julian Rouas and the Jackson Tribute Fragrances rogue operation. With no functioning conscience, they have even used Michael’s kids to promote the stinking perfumes. See the sickening photos…
http://jacksontributefragrances.blogspot.com
1. Who the hell is the hood-rat with the pink wig? 2. “Won’t be able to hold, laugh or perform with with Michael” = We can’t do shit on our merit because the only talent have is being able to hang on to his and janet’s coattails. 3. Children grow up w/o a father because he was chemically enabled by “all the folks that “loved him” (sigh). 4. Randy has titties, those jeans are so tight, I don’t think that’s his head but a testicle that got loose. 5. Murray will be lucky to serve 2yrs. I suspect that when his time is up, he’ll skiddadle to some place in the caribbean. While I do believe he’s guilty of negligence, he shouldn’t be on the hot seat alone. Also, I’m glad he DIDN’T protest and stayed cool, he would have looked nuts and gotten more time. Just MHO
People like to blame the victim, but what is their explanation for Conrad Murray’s plans for that recording of Michael?? WHAT was he going to do with it? Was he going to use it to extort more money from the man who had trusted him with his life? SMH in grief and sorrow.