Judge Pastor Throws Book at Dr. Conrad Murray

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright December 1, 2011

All Rights Reserved.                                         

    Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor gave Dr. Conrad Murray the maximum four-year sentence for his Nov. 7 involuntary manslaughter conviction in the death of pop singing icon Michael Jackson.  Murray overdosed Jackson June 25, 2009 on the fast-acting operating room anesthetic drug Propofol, leaving the 50-year-old singer lifeless in his rented Holmby Hills mansion.  Facts revealed at trial proved that Murray concocted an insomnia machine, hooked Jackson up to an intravenous drip, administered Propofol and killed his patient.  A twelve-member jury found Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter carrying a maximum sentence of four years.  Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley debated furiously over whether to charge Murray with the more draconic offenses of voluntary manslaughter or second-degree murder, carrying far longer jail sentences than involuntary manslaughter.

            When the DA charged Murray Feb. 6, 2010 with involuntary manslaughter, the Jackson family cringed, realizing that Michael’s killer would only do a maximum of four years in state jail.  Too worried about another failed celebrity trial, Cooley decided that his best shot was trying Murray for involuntary manslaughter, the equivalent of hitting a bystander in a crosswalk with a .08 blood alcohol level.  Whatever the misgivings of trying Murray for involuntary manslaughter, the DA convinced the jury that Murray did indeed crosse the line from malpractice to criminal negligence.  Mucking up the trial, the American Medical Association chimed in before the trial began Sept. 28, insisting that physicians should not be charged or prosecuted for criminal acts.  Murray’s trial was an historic test case of where doctors cross the line from medical malpractice to criminal negligence.

            Pastor was emphatic at the Nov. 29 sentencing hearing.  “Some feel that this was a medical malpractice case.  It wasn’t.  And this jury found that Conrad Murray, with criminal negligence, caused the death of Michael Jackson,” Pastor said before revealing Murray’s sentence.  Pastor could have just as easily said “Dr. Conrad Murray killed Michael Jackson,” not “caused the death.”  Pastor’s choice of words reflects the delicate nature of criminal proceedings and semantics applied to various charges, especially involuntary manslaughter.  Without mincing words, Pastor should have said, “Dr. Conrad Murray killed Michael Jackson, period.”  “The fact is, Michael Jackson died because of the actions of, and the failures to perform legal duties on the part of, Conrad Murray,” said Pastor, again failing to properly label what happened.   Pastor is concerned with  language that could be used in Murray’s appeal

             Murray’s chief attorney Ed Chernoff tried his best to argue that Jackson killed himself with a self-administered Propofol overdose.  His argument to mitigate Murray’s sentence reflected the same confusion as the trial, where the defense wasn’t sure to argue Jackson killed himself or accidentally died from prescription drug abuse.  Ultimately, the jury didn’t buy Chernoff’s arguments because he was too inconsistent.  Calling Jackson a “drug seeker” and Murray a “dirt poor” kid from the Caribbean, Chernoff hoped to play on Pastor’s sympathies.  He even blamed Jackson for seducing Murray with big paychecks to engage in risky medical procedures.  Pastor was critical of Murray’s secret  recording played at trial of Jackson’s slurred speech.  “It was designed to tape his patients surreptitiously at that patient’s most vulnerable point,” said Pastor, dumbfounded about Murray’s ulterior motives.

               Murray’s only possible motive for recording Jackson’s slurred speech involved proving that he was a drug addict himself.  By acknowledging his abuse of prescription drugs, Murray tried to show that Jackson contributed to his own death.  Pastor went on to say Murray showed “absolutely no remorse,” attesting to his premeditated attempt as Jackson’s personal doctor to discredit his patient in the event of a mishap.  If Murray really believed in his treatment, he wouldn’t have gone to great lengths to prove Jackson’s prescription drug abuse.  Whatever the outcome, the state showed the difference between malpractice and criminal negligence.  Murray’s conviction for involuntary manslaughter has already saved lives, warning doctors—despite the AMA—not to engage in reckless negligence, the basis of convicting Murray on involuntary manslaughter.

            Throwing the book at Murray represented the DA’s guilt in choosing to prosecute Murray for the lesser crime of involuntary manslaughter, rather than more serious capital crimes.  Murray’s conviction tells licensed physicians that they’re not at liberty to engage in risky medical procedures that could result in eventual death.  Whether or not Murray serves his full sentence or some fraction because of current jail overcrowding doesn’t reverse Judge Pastor’s stiff sentence.  For trials to have any deterrent value, criminals must know that there are serious consequences to killing patients.  Pastor’s wrong saying that Murray “caused” Jackson’s death.  He’d be more precise saying that Murray’s reckless negligence killed Michael Jackson.  Concocting his own insomnia treatment with the operating room Propofol proved that Murray killed Jackson with unforgivable criminal negligence.

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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