November 04, 2011
The jury is now in deliberations and we know they were riveted by the closing arguments on both sides yesterday. If only we could be a fly on the wall in there today ... It would be fascinating to know if any of them are talking about MJ "the addict," who secretly dosed himself with a lethal injection. Of course, that is not the main issue at hand for this jury panel. In fact, if they follow the letter of the law, they are being asked to decide this: Did Conrad Murray's actions or ineptitude amount to criminal negligence?
The prosecution proved that Murray acted with "gross negligence" in his standard of care for Michael Jackson -- but did they prove that Conrad Murray is a criminal? As all of MJ's fans await the verdict -- many of them reacting with raw emotion to his untimely death -- they want Murray to pay with the maximum sentence possible. Surely Michael's fans hope that this same emotion will play a part in the jury deliberation room, knowing that most of these jurors are admitted MJ fans themselves. Still, this is not a case about justice for a celebrity. No doubt this trial is being watched by the world because of MJ's superstar status -- but the actual outcome of the verdict can influence doctor/patient care standards -- forever more.
Weighing in on the other side of this trial is lead attorney Ed Chernoff, who asked the jury to consider that a case such as this would never have been brought to trial, if not for the fame of Michael Jackson. Moreover, Chernoff accused the State of California of manipulating the facts in the trial, asserting that "the prosecution wants you to convict Dr. Murray for the actions of Michael Jackson." In his passionate closing argument yesterday, Chernoff went on to insist that the prosecution "created" an IV drip "that never existed." Hmmmm. I'm not sure I can agree with that theory. With his children to think about and a future looking bright, why would Michael infuse himself with drugs that were potentially lethal? Moreover, he was paying Murray a crazy amount of money to take care of the administration of his meds.
Perhaps the first thing the jurors are doing today is putting together a timeline of the drugs given to Michael on June 25 and considering the remote possibility that MJ could have accidentally overdosed on both propofol and lorazepam tablets. Of course, if they focus on the differences between what Conrad Murray told LAPD on June 27, vs. the physical evidence and testimony, they should come to the logical conclusion that Murray's version of events do not jive with Murray's claim that he only left Michael alone "for two minutes" that morning, coming back into the bedroom to find Michael "not breathing." Still, with the defense vehemently arguing that Michael infused himself with the lethal last dose of propofol, there is room for any one juror to insist that MJ did, plausibly, cause his own death.
Let's remember that some members of the jury might take into account "the good Dr. Murray" who had five character witnesses testify that he virtually saved their lives. If this jury is smart however, they will realize that this trial is not about Murray's past behavior as a medical doctor. This case has boiled down to a fundamental question about Murray acting as an "employee" rather than a physician. It's about Murray violating the "sacred trust" between a doctor and his patient. It's about the 17 acts that Murray is accused of, all of which, prosecutors assert, directly lead to Jackson's death.
According to the instructions given to the jury by Judge Pastor, the only thing these jurors need to agree on is that ONE of the alleged acts of doctor Murray -- amounted to criminal negligence. If the panel of 12 agrees that any of Murray's actions played "a substantial part" in MJ's death, they will return a guilty verdict. Even if they find that Michael did play a part in his own death by requesting these unusual drugs, they legally cannot blame the death on MJ because the entertainer was relying on the care of a highly paid medical doctor -- who had a legal obligation to monitor his patient at all times.
But then, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We all know it's never a certainty that a jury will follow the logical conclusion set forth by a prosecutor. All we have to do is recall the verdict in the Casey Anthony trial and realize that sometimes, it doesn't matter how obvious a guilty verdict may seem to trial watchers -- all that matters is what happens behind the closed doors and the 12 people who perhaps feel "the world is on their shoulders" as they toss around two compelling sides of the story.
One thing is certain, the longer the jury is out, the more possible it is that they can get "hung" by one or two people. If they act with reason -- if they are all on the same page -- I think they will act quickly. Of course, who's to say what is reasonable when a man's future lies in your hands. We might want to be a fly on that wall, but most of us would not want to live with the responsibility of a lawful conviction that could end the career and livelihood of a doctor whom some see as, perhaps, a sacrificial lamb.
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