earsucker

Dr. Conrad Murray appeared in court today to be sentenced in the Michael Jackson manslaughter trial.

Dr. Murray’s attorney tried to object to the cameras being in the courtroom. Judge Michael Pastor overruled the defendant’s right to privacy with regard to the cameras, due to the fact that he recorded a lot of his interactions prior to the court’s ruling for his documentary.

The Prosecution presented the court with statutes that dictate that this involuntary manslaughter should be classified as a serious felony. They want Conrad Murray to serve out his sentence in State Prison.

The Prosecution asked the Judge to allow the family’s representative to speak on their behalf. Mr. Brian Panish spoke as the family’s attorney. He said that Michael’s parents couldn’t imagine living past Michael and his children will grow up without a father. They aren’t there to seek revenge, as there is nothing they can do that would bring him back.

They want the judge to impose the maximum sentence to remind physicians that they cannot bypass their Hippocratic oath to do no harm.

The Prosecution’s attorney David Walgren recounted how Dr. Murray was careless and reckless with the life of Michael Jackson. He said that Dr. Murray looked out for himself and not Michael, nor his family, even after Michael’s death. He is asking the Judge to deny probation, citing the Judge’s words regarding the “homicide” of Michael Jackson – during the reading of the verdict. He said that it’s the People’s position that the doctor should be mandated to serve four years in State Prison after he played Russian Roulette with Michael’s life nightly.

The Prosecution is claiming that Michael would have made $100 million in earnings from his This Is It Tour. He said that they are under no illusion that Dr. Murray can pay that figure, but the family has a right to restitution.

The Defense said that Conrad Murray didn’t wish to give a statement. He called Michael Jackson a “drug seeker” and a powerful, famous, wealthy individual with lawyers, security, staff and advisers. He asked the court to think about Conrad’s life before the two months that he gave Michael Propofol.

The Judge said that the doctor acted with criminal negligence in the death of Michael Jackson. Judge Pastor declined to give Conrad probation. He said that he does not have the legal authority to send Conrad Murray to State Prison.

The court imposes four years of jail at the Los Angeles County Jail. He was ordered to pay $800 fine, a court security fee of $30 and a criminal conviction assessment of $40.