Michael Jackson doctor Conrad Murray case goes to jury

Prosecutors ended their case by saying Dr Conrad Murray's care of Jackson had been "bizarre", while the defence said the singer had caused his own death.

The case against the physician charged with the death of the pop star Michael Jackson has gone to the jury, following closing statements.

       Prosecutors concluded their case by saying Dr Conrad Murray's care of Jackson had been "bizarre" and left the pop star's children fatherless.
The defence countered that the singer had caused his own death in June 2009 with an overdose of a sedative.
The seven-man, five-woman jury will begin deliberations on Friday morning.
If convicted, Dr Murray could face up to four years in prison and lose his licence to practise medicine.
During Thursday's closing statements after the nearly six-week trial, the prosecution projected images of Jackson's grief-stricken children on a giant screen.

The pop star's mother and siblings watched from the court gallery as Deputy District Attorney David Walgren told the jury: "For Michael Jackson's children this case goes on forever because they do not have a father.

"They do not have a father because of the actions of Conrad Murray."
He cited Dr Murray's delay in calling 911 and phone records that indicated the physician had been on the phone during Jackson's final hours, when he should have been attending to his patient.
"What was so pressing that he just couldn't care for Michael Jackson?" Mr Walgren asked the court.
He also reminded the jury that Dr Murray had failed to tell the paramedics and emergency room doctors how he had been giving Jackson the powerful sedative propofol as a treatment for insomnia.
"That is consciousness of guilt," Mr Walgren told the court. "That is Conrad Murray knowing full well what caused Michael Jackson's death."
But the accused's legal team said in its closing statement that Jackson's death was not Dr Murray's fault.
They said Jackson had caused his own death by injecting a dose of propofol while his doctor was out of the room.
"If it was anybody else, would this doctor be here today?" defence attorney Ed Chernoff asked the jury.
Mr Chernoff said prosecutors had failed to prove that Dr Murray had committed a crime by giving Jackson doses of propofol as a sleep aid in the singer's bedroom.
"They want you to convict Dr Murray for the actions of Michael Jackson," Mr Chernoff said.
Dr Murray, who denies involuntary manslaughter, chose not to testify in his own defence.

Posted in: US