by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Aug 12, 2009
All Rights Reserved.

      Suspicions continue to swirl by the Los Angeles County District Attorney and Los Angeles Police Department about a criminal case of at least manslaughter against the late singer Michael Jackson’s personal doctor Conrad Murray.  Since Jackson’s death June 25, Murray has been in the center of the storm about Jackosn’s death, raising suspicions that the singer died of a drug overdose, not heart failure or cardiac arrest.  Las Vegas police with federal drug agents searched a pharmacy’s computer records for evidence of Murray’s propofol transactions.  At the time of his death, Murray had Jackson on a popofol drip, used in operating rooms by anesthesiologists for surgical procedures.  Propofol, trade-named Diprivan, is not intended for home use, requiring specialized monitoring equipment.  Murray, who identifies himself as a cardiologist, was not trained as an anesthetist.

             Murray, who disappeared for several days after Jackson’s death, told Los Angeles Police that he found Jackson not breathing and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation for about an hour before paramedics arrived at Jackson’s rented Holmby Hills estate, just west of Beverly Hills off Sunset Blvd.  When paramedics arrived, they found Jackson without a pulse and not breathing.  Why Murray waited so long to call paramedics in anyone’s guess.  No one knows yet what went wrong with his makeshift anesthesia lab in Jackson’s bedroom.  Some reports indicate that Murray overslept, failing to stop the propofol drip before it hit a lethal dose.  So far, the Los Angeles County Coroner has refused to release autopsy results, including a detailed toxicology report.  Whatever the coroner finds in Jackson’s system, it doesn’t exonerate Murray from negligent homicide and medical malpractice.

            Murray’s attorney Edward Chernoff told reporters that the doctor didn’t administer anything to Jackson that “should have” killed him.  Chernoff denied that Murray gave Jackson Demerol or OxyContin or any other drug than the Diprivan.  Murray’s best defense lies in the amount of drugs found in Jackson’s body.  But regardless of what the coroner found, Murray—a physician without anesthesiology training or certification—should never have set up makeshift anesthesia lab and administer a propofol drip.  Murray can’t argue, as a physician, that his patient demanded or insisted that he give him a specific drug or procedure.  Murray was reportedly paid $150,000 a month to attend Jackson’s medical needs.  Jackosn might have been a drug abuser, prescribed or otherwise, but no doctor can or should engage in reckless medical practices.

            LA Coroner’s office refused to release the final autopsy report containing the cause of death until the LAPD completes its investigation.  Murrray faces manslaughter charges and stands to lose his medical license.  Whether voluntary or involuntary, manslaughter involves the negligent death of another.  No premeditation or planning is necessary.  Murray’s elaborate anesthesia lab certainly involved planning but there’s not intent necessarily to commit bodily injury.  For a doctor that knew the risks, he also knew a propofol drip carried inherent risks of death.  Even properly administered anesthesia, inside a controlled and well-monitored operating room, involves risks of brain damage or death.  Using operating room anesthesia to treat Jackson’s insomnia sinks well-below the standard of care, qualifying for malpractice and negligent homicide, something akin to drunk or reckless driving.

            LAPD and federal investigators have gone to great lengths investigating Murray’s medical practices in Las Vegas and Houston.  Spelling trouble, Murray marketed himself as a cardiologist in Houston when he possessed no credentials or board certification.  Jackson probably didn’t care that Murray also wasn’t certified in anesthesiology when he agreed to treat his insomnia with a standard operating room procedure.  Jackson wouldn’t have known the risks or the kind of monitoring equipment needed to prevent a life-threatening mishap.  Whether Murray knew or didn’t know the drugs Jackson took and wound up in the toxicology report, treating his insomnia with propofol constituted unquestionable malpractice.  Jackson’s inadvertent death is directly related to Murray’s actions, giving the Los Angeles County District Attorney ample grounds for filing manslaughter charges.

            Los Angeles and federal authorities are getting closer to filing manslaughter charges against the 56-year-old Las Vegas resident.  Admitting he didn’t give Jackson anything that “should have” killed Jackson, Murray hopes the toxicology report shows Michael was inundated with drugs.  Murray and his attorney know he should have never agreed to render Jackson unconscious with propofol to treat his insomnia.  Whether anything else worked or not, it was far too risky to administer a Diprivan drip, especially  without the heart and respiratory monitoring equipment found in the most primitive operating rooms.  When Murray fled the scene July 25 immediately after Jackosn’s death, it was clear he thought he did something wrong.  He knew that setting up a propofol drip was beneath the standard of care and certainly beyond his expertise of a general practitioner. 

 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.