Back in June, just after his death Lat Toya Michael Jackson’s sister claimed that he had been murdered. It wuld seem that she was right.
The death certificate was amended on August 31st by the medical examiner, Christopher Rogers, the cause of death now reads ‘homicide’. It talks of “acute Propofol intoxication” and “intravenous injection by another”. There was no evidence of illegal drugs in Michael’s body at the time of death and he was in relatively good heath for a man of his age.
This is, potentially, very bad news for his doctor Conrad Murray. It is thought that he is to be indicted on a charge of ‘involuntary manslaughter’. The police are talking about a charge involving gross negligence saying that the care given to Michael was way below the standard of care normally given by physicians.
The coroner found that propofol was given to Michael without any medical need or the recommended resuscitation equipment being in place. Propofol depresses the breathing, heart rate and lowers blood pressure.
Murray was in Michael’s rented LA mansion when he died and tried to try to revive him when he was found unconcious. Through his spokemen Murray has issued a cautious ‘no comment’ to the speculation that he about to be charged. The spokesmen went on to repeat that Murray neither prescribed or administered anything that should have caused Michael’s death.
For a successfull prosecution the prosecuter woiuld have to prove that there was a reckless action that created a risk of injury or death. Where the accused is a doctor there are also other issues such as was the patient made fully aware of the risks and did he accept them?
When (if) Murray is charged depends on a few things such as how soon can a grand jury be convened and how long will the DA’s review of the evidence presented by the police take. The police investigation was largely completed in December and it included interviews with medical proffessionals much attention being given to expected standards of care.
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