I am getting really sick and tired of watching HLN every night now that the Michael Jackson death case is the primary subject of debate. Is it just me, or are all these attorneys and specialists missing the elephant in the room?
Judging from what I've heard during the panelist discussions, a majority of people believe that Dr. Conrad Murray acted with malice or bad intentions when administering propofol to his patient (Michael Jackson). They are acting like it was this doctor's idea to give MJ this medicine.... his idea to shoot him up with a lethal dose of a dangerous anesthetic that he knew could kill him. The following is what's missing from everyone's arguments on the topic... the FACT that Michael Jackson WANTED DRUGS, WANTED PROPOFOL, AND DEMANDED THAT THE LATTER MEDICINE BE ADMINISTERED TO HIM... OR ELSE. Doctors who saw Michael Jackson at one point or another in the later part of his career have testified that when they resisted his requests for certain medications (i.e. oxycontin), he would immediately cut them off. He even cut his own family off and demanded that they not be allowed into his home because they wanted to stage an intervention. If you weren't onboard with Michael Jackson's lifestyle and his choice to consume enormous amounts of narcotics, he would simply write you off. Now imagine being Conrad Murray, and your friend and patient is paying you $150k per month to be their personal doctor and tend to them. Do you think that MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, you might feel A LITTLE inclined to do what they wanted? Before answering that quickly, please consider human nature and what we tend to do with our friends and those who write our paychecks. Michael Jackson was using propofol every night to get to sleep. He used Conrad Murray to give it to him, and the doctor obviously had a routine down for administering it. Then one day, something went horribly wrong. Michael Jackson stopped breathing in his anesthetic-induced sleep (which is not really real sleep at all) and now everyone is pointing the finger at Dr. Murray. He injected him, he left him to die, bla bla bla. Are these people smoking crack? Are they not aware of the fact that Michael Jackson is behind the whole propofol thing. He wanted it, he got it. He probably demanded the dosage... that wasn't up to Conrad Murray. Eventually his misuse of these drugs, substances that are extremely powerful and only supposed to be used in a hospital setting, resulted in his death. And as far as Conrad Murray leaving the room to talk on the phone, the guy was crouched inside a adjacent door trying to keep his voice down so his patient could sleep. Who cares if he called women? Just because he's a womanizer doesn't mean he's a killer. He obviously had his eye on MJ, otherwise he wouldn't have hung up on the one girlfriend. Now, in giving MJ propofol every night at his home, was CM doing something he shouldn't have been doing? Duh, of course! But Michael Jackson knew this, and it wasn't going to stop him from getting what he wanted. BOTTOM LINE.
I'm not saying the guy shouldn't have any penalties. Dr. Murray should most definitely lose his medical license as he's proven he's incapable of following the rules and standards set forth by the American Medical Board.
The sad thing about this trial is, at least for me, the fact that Dr. Conrad Murray is likely going to be convicted of the charges against him while people like Casey Anthony are getting off scott free following the murder of an innocent baby. The prosecution has done an amazing job of making Murray look like the world's biggest scumbag. They've also done an excellent job of blowing up those moments during which it looked like CM was only in it for himself, on the phone with women, not calling 911 right away, and so on. The man was most likely in shock, didn't want to believe that Michael had stopped breathing... wanted to believe that he could be revived. Of course you wouldn't want the secret of your shady medical practices to come out if it didn't have to. The latter would have been really bad for Michael too, especially if he had lived. Tehy would both have looked bad in the eyes of the press for engaging in such irresponsible, illegal behavior. These reasons alone can account for why he didn't immediately call 911. He wanted to see if he could take care of the situation before it blew up (i.e. revive michael in the home) Unfortunately, after listening to the prosecution's witnesses and their arguments, I think it's fair to say he's done for. Case closed... he's gonna be convicted. And that fucking sucks. It's not fair. He acted recklessly in doing what Michael Jackson asked of him. But that's just it - MJ asked it of him, and Murray fell victim to temptation. Make no mistake, he would have been fired if he hadn't gotten that equipment and those drugs into the house. The one thing Conrad Murray is guilty of is greed. He wanted to keep his high paying job as Mr. Jackson's personal physician, perhaps to support all of the children he has and the women who are dependent on him. Greed is a common character flaw... but again, it doesn't mean someone should go to jail. Throughout the trial I've seen Conrad Murray tearing up when the events surrounding the death of his friend and patient are discussed.
My final word on this subject: Dr. Conrad Murray should not be found guilty of manslaughter because he did not kill Michael Jackson. MICHAEL JACKSON KILLED HIMSELF... and that's the damndest truth! Anyone who knows anything about his drug history, as well as his insane decision to use propofol to go to sleep every night, should be able to understand where I'm coming from. Casey Anthony walked free after duck taping her drug-upped baby's mouth and eventually suffocating her (or whatever happened in that trunk, who knows, the child is dead, that's what matters). If Conrad Murray is forced to pay for Michael Jackson's death, then our justice system is completely FUCKED UP. Casey Anthony innocent, Conrad Murray guilty. The man was just doing what he was hired to do.... it may have been morally irresponsible, but if it had been working night after night for some time, and Jackson was exceling in rehearsals and seemed to be ontop of his game, why would he stop? especially if that meant his job and his salary. Obviously he's not a great person for doing what he did... but if Michael seemed healthy and wanted to keep doing it, how is he gonna stop him. Someone else probably would have filled Murray's shoes at the drop of a hat. No matter how shallow people might think he is, Conrad Murray is NOT a murderer. He did NOT want Michael Jackson dead. How would this have benefitted him? It wouldn't have. With Michael alive, CR was getting paid. It's also obvious he had an emotional connection to his late patient... as he got teary eyed in court. He also spent a tremendous amount of time with him. This man did not intend for Michael to die. It was a tragic accident, one that easily could have been prevented. Or could it have? Considering it's Michael Jackson we're talking about... a.k.a. the most famous pop icon of all time... he would have gotten what he wanted one way or another. And I'm certain he would have killed himself one way or another also. People try to say he looked healthy in rehearsals and that he was ontop of his game. I say BS-yeah right... the guy looked awful. like an emaciated ghost. And the coroner said he weighed 132 or something. That is super low for a guy his height. He looked like a walking skeleton. Clearly Michael Jackson was not taking care of himself. He was in poor health, and by messing around with medicines that are only supposed to be administered in a controlled hospital setting, he was basically playing Russian roulette. I see Conrad Murray as the person who gave Michael the gun with which to play that game. He is guilty of stepping outside the bounds of his job and his responsibilities as a doctor. That's it. Michael Jackson killed himself... he'd been killing himself for years, and finally his body gave out.
More than anything, this will probably be a wake up call for Dr. Murray. After going through all of this, I highly doubt he will ever play the fame game again... seeing where it got him this time around. For those who are reading this disgusted, I ask you to imagine being in a position like that. If you had access to something your powerful famous celebrity boss wanted, and nobody had to know about it... your salary and financial stability depended on it... and it had been working so far.. what would you do? Dr. Conrad Murray acted irresponsibly, yes.... but he was doing what he had been doing for the last months over and over again to the same effect. He didn't know it was going to kill Michael. It was a tragic accident that exposed his irresponsible choices. That's it. Take away his medical license, let him live with the loss of his friend and patient... a loss that he allowed to happen on his watch. That is punishment enough. Michael Jackson is not coming back. There is no reason to crucify his doctor any longer.
