Dr. Conrad Murray given maximum sentence in the death of Michael Jackson

TMZ has this: "Judge Michael Pastor threw the book at Dr. Conrad Murray, sentencing him to 4 YEARS IN PRISON.  But Murray will not spend a single day in prison because of a new California law.  He'll serve his time in L.A. County Jail.  And in jail, at most Murray will only serve half the sentence. Judge Pastor said, "There are those who feel Dr. Murray is a saint.  There are those who feel he's the devil.  He is neither.  He's a human being." Judge Pastor says it's irrelevant to him that Michael might have met this fate with some other doctor.  The fact is, Pastor said, Michael Jackson died because of the actions of ... Dr. Murray." The judge said he looked at Murray's whole life, and he was impressed.  But he added Dr. Murray's recklessness with Jackson overshadowed the doc's good deeds, calling the treatment, "a cycle of horrible medicine." The Judge noted, "Dr. Murray engaged in a recurring, continuous pattern of deceit and lies." The Judge was incredulous, saying far from being remorseful, "There's umbrage and outrage on the part of Dr. Murray against the decedent." In the end, the judge said, "Dr. Murray abandoned his patient," calling his conduct "egregious" and "a disgrace to the medical profession."

TMZ noted earlier today that, "Judges, prosecutors and criminal lawyers who have spoken with TMZ agree ... Conrad Murray should not get the maximum sentence - 4 years in prison - but the fact that he killed Michael Jackson changes everything. It's not supposed to be this way - the fame of the victim should be irrelevant - but it's hard to ignore the fame of the victim. The people we spoke with say the typical sentence for someone in a similar position - no criminal history, an otherwise unblemished record - would be a "blended sentence" - a year or 2 in jail, and then a year or 2 of community service."

Comments

[Leon Arp]

The tragic part is, that with the proper medical attention, Michael Jackson might have been able to overcome his addiction to drugs.