Dr. Conrad Murray's Incredulous Defense

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright January 1, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                                

            Hinting at a possible defense in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, Los Angeles County District Attorney believes the defense will blame Michael Jackson’s June 25, 2009 death on a self-administered lethal dose of the anesthetic Propofol.  “I do think it’s clear that the defense is operating under the theory that the victim, Michael Jackson, killed himself,” said Deputy DA David Walgren.  Ruling his cause of death Aug. 28, 2009 “acute Propofol intoxication,” the Los Angeles County Coroner pinpointed Dr. Murray’s role in Jackson’s death.  After a successful rehearsal at Los Angeles’ Staples Center for his upcoming British tour, Jackson was found “not breathing” by Murray at 9:00 a.m. June 25.  According to police reports, Murray, Jackson’s $100,000 a month personal physician, tried to administer CPR before calling paramedics at 11:00 a.m.

            Murray set up a makeshift intravenous drip, administering Propofol, AKA Diprivan, to treat Jackson’s insomnia.  Shorting acting anesthetics, like Propofol, are used for surgery, not treating various causes of insomnia.  Murray lacked the training or certification in anesthesia, not to mention appropriate monitoring equipment to engage in such high-risk procedures.  By the time paramedics arrived at Jackson’s rented Holmby Hills rented home, he was non-responsive, transferred via ambulance to the ER at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center.  Two-and-a-half hours later, Jackson was pronounced dead by emergency medical personnel.  No one knew then what the coroner would find Aug. 28 that Jackson died of “acute Propofol intoxication” not a rumored “heart attack.”  Following Jackson’s death, Dr. Murray went missing before eventually found by the LAPD.

            Murray denied doing anything improper that resulted in Jackson’s death.  His Propofol insomnia machine defined gross negligence by a licensed physician, creating his own dangerous procedure for treating Jackson’s insomnia.  Since the coroner’s finding with respect to Jackson’s cause of death, the defense has been angling for some plausible deniability.  “They don’t want to say it but that’s the direction in which they are going,” said Walgren, referring to the defense’s tactic of blaming the overdose on Jackson.  Coroner officials found 150 mg of Propofol in Jackson’s blood, over five-times the dose Murray admitted to administering.  Accounting for the difference, prosecutors expect Murray’s defense attorney J. Michael Flannagan to argue that, unbeknownst to Murray, Jackson injected himself with the Propofol causing his own death.  Flanagan points to two Propoful-filled syringes found the scene.

            Diverting attention away from Murray’s gross negligence, Flannagan hopes to eventually create reasonable doubt in jurors’ minds.  Propofol keeps patients unconscious as long as it’s maintained at a certain bloodstream level.  Flannagan hopes that jurors believe that Jackson awakened on his own, groped for a syringe and injected himself out of desperation.  On Jan. 4, Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor will decide whether there’s sufficient evidence to bind Murray over for trial on charges of “involuntary manslaughter.”  Given that a Propofol drip falls out the usual and customary treatment for insomnia and given that Murray lacked the training or certification to administer short-acting anesthesia, his treatment defines gross negligence needed for “voluntary manslaughter.”  Pastor should find plenty of cause to try Murray for “involuntary manslaughter.”

            When the coroner revealed a 150 mg lethal dose of Propofol, the defense could no longer claim trace amounts of benzodiazapines found in Jackson’s blood contributed to the 50-year-old pop singer’s death.  Because the 150 mg of Propofol was all that was needed for death, the defense now had to blame to lethal dose on someone other that Dr. Murray.  Flannagan must convince a jury that Jackson administered the lethal dose to himself.  While Murray admitted to police he administered only 25 mg, he believes it’s credible to blame Jackson for the additional product.  Whatever Propofol-filled syringes were found at the scene, it doesn’t mean that Jackson took his treatment into his own hands.  While the defense can’t make any outrageous allegation, it’s incredulous that Jackson would overdose himself.   Jurors will have to decide what sounds more plausible:  Overdose by the doctor or Jackson himself.

            Whatever happened in the early morning of June 25, 2009, it’s a known fact that Dr. Conrad Murray, without proper training or certification, engaged in gross negligence administering a risky form of anesthesia to treat Jackson’s insomnia.  Quibbling over who administered the lethal injection, jurors must ferret out first Murray’s credibility after administering a highly suspect insomnia treatment.  While experiments do go awry, the California Medical Board hasn’t taken lightly Murray’s dangerous and negligent insomnia treatment.  Arguing after the fact that he only injected Jackson with 25 mg can’t hide his gross negligence in devising such a high-risk procedure.  Focusing on the milligram dosage that killed Jackson diverts attention away from Murray’s gross negligence.  What killed Jackson was an arrogant physician playing with anesthesia without proper training, experience or certification.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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