Michael Jackson’s death: Could Dr Conrad Murray be really held responsible?


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Dr Conrad Murray, the last doctor to have treated Michael Jackson (MJ), has admitted to having injected the pop star with a powerful anaesthetic shortly before his death. As this product is reserved exclusively for hospital use and requires constant monitoring of the patient, the police have sought to know if the doctor is guilty of negligence. If so, he could be indicted for manslaughter. The doctor is reported to have briefly left MJ after administering him with the anaesthetic.

Dr Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson’s doctor, could be prosecuted for manslaughter. For now, investigators have stopped exploring this hypothesis, although nothing prevents them from considering the possibility in the near future. Thursday, the Los Angeles Times and AP news agency indicated, quoting sources close to the investigation, that Dr. Conrad Murray allegedly told the police that he had administered Michael Jackson with a propofol intravenous drip to help him sleep. The singer, exhausted after long rehearsal sessions, suffered from insomnia. The doctor is reported to have left MJ alone for a while, to make some phone calls. Upon his return, the pop star’s heart had stopped beating.

Propofol is a powerful anaesthetic drug used only in hospital settings. It requires the constant supervision of an anaesthesiologist. So, does leaving Michael Jackson alone, even for a brief moment, constitute negligence? According to the cardiologist, the answer is no and that it was not the first time he administered the anaesthetic to the singer, who had hitherto not reacted negatively to the medication. Moreover, the doctor claims that Michael Jackson had used propofol for years: An important detail.

Several drugs detected in MJ’s blood

Although police have blocked the publication of MJ’s autopsy results, indescretion has led to a reported presence of several drugs, including antidepressants, in his blood sample. Apparently, only a very small amount of propofol was detected. The police, however, want to know if the propofol intravenous drip and the fact that the singer had been left alone, even for a short time, is sufficient proof to indict Dr. Conrad Murray for manslaughter. But observers have also questioned whether the various surgeries the singer underwent could have led him to an addiction, in relation to the anaesthetic drug.

It was in May this year that the broke and highly indebted cardiologist entered into Michael Jackson’s service. According to his lawyer, the doctor who knew nothing about his patient’s medical history, was hired to help him prepare for his comeback concert. Four of the singer’s former doctors are also under investigations. The police are trying to ascertain if they had prescribed any illegal drugs for the singer’s use in the past.

Dead, Michael Jackson has raked in more cash than his final years alive. The various contracts signed after his death in June is expected to fetch his heirs some $ 200 million, one of the late star’s estate managers said Thursday. Sales of his records have skyrocketed, while many other contracts signed on his behalf are expected to generate up to fifty million dollars a year.

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