Conrad Murray trial: Michael Jackson’s family waits anxiously as jury deliberates verdict in involuntary manslaughter case Murray faces up to four years in prison and the loss of his medical license if convicted
BY Nancy Dillon
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Friday, November 4 2011, 5:51 PM
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Conrad Murray faces up to four years in prison and the loss of his medical license if convicted.
LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson's relatives waited anxiously Friday as jurors began deliberations in the involuntary manslaughter trial of his personal doctor.
"I'm so shaky right now waiting for a verdict! Every little noise has me jumping out of my skin!" sister La Toya Jackson said on Twitter shortly before lunchtime.
La Toya, matriarch Katherine Jackson and other relatives are expected to make a beeline for the courtroom as soon as the seven-man, five-woman jury reaches a verdict.
Jurors did not ask any questions Friday morning but did request highlighter pens.
During a six-week trial televised around the world, they heard from 49 witnesses.
Now they must decide whether Dr. Conrad Murray was criminally negligent when he provided Jackson with a dangerous hospital-grade anesthetic in a bedroom setting behind closed doors.
"It is impossible to predict what will happen, especially after Casey Anthony's acquittal, but I think (Murray) is hosed," said veteran prosecutor Vesna Maras, a former Los Angeles County prosecutor.
Maras went up against a member of Murray’s legal team when she prosecuted two nurses in a 2004 propofol case. One of the nurses pleaded to a lesser charge; one was acquitted, but the incident happened in a hospital.
"In my opinion, Murray created the scenario that killed Michael Jackson, whether he did it himself or provided the tools," Maras told the Daily News. "It's like a babysitter leaving a curious child near a bunch of loaded guns with the safeties off and then acting surprised when the kid shoots himself."
She said an acquittal would amount to a "purely emotional verdict" not rooted in the law.
"But I never say never. Maybe a juror thinks (Jackson) was a junkie and too bad his babysitter walked away, he did this to himself. Maybe they just feel sorry for Dr. Murray, that he's just the last guy in a string of people doing this."
Deputy District Attorney David Walgren told jurors Thursday that Murray broke his oath to do no harm when he provided four gallons of propofol for at-home consumption to preserve his fat $150,000-per-month paycheck.
He said Murray pumped Jackson with the anesthetic, which is known to suppress breathing, and then "abandoned" his bedside vigil to cell-phone chat with paramours and use the bathroom the morning of June 25, 2009.
"Did Michael Jackson yell out for help? Did he gasp? Did he choke? Were there sounds? We don't know. And we'll never know because of the neglect and negligence of Conrad Murray," Walgren said during closing arguments.
He said it didn't matter whether Murray or Jackson gave the fatal dose.
"Self-administration is not an extraordinary or unforeseen circumstance," he added. "The people cannot prove exactly what happened behind the closed door.
As I stated earlier, Michael Jackson could give answers, but he is dead." NOT, so MJ's the one who could give the answers. bow/ Murray's defense tried to narrow the case Thursday, saying that without evidence that Murray provided a constant propofol infusion with an IV drip, there was no crime.
Lead defense lawyer Ed Chernoff used his final salvo to portray Murray as a "little fish in a big dirty pond," suggesting Jackson secretly swallowed or injected drugs while Murray wasn't looking in a desperate bid to beat his insomnia and escape the pressures of his comeback tour.
"They're trying to create a drip that never existed," Chernoff said. "They want you to convict Dr. Murray for the (actions) of Michael Jackson."
Murray, 58, faces up to four years in prison and the loss of his medical license if convicted.
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