LOS ANGELES – Now that Conrad Murray has been convicted of killing pop superstar Michael Jackson, and was immediately remanded into custody, he’ll have to wait at least two more weeks to see if he’ll spend the next four years behind bars or to a lesser degree, house arrest.
Many speculate that the embattled cardiologist may get no jail time at all, due to overcrowded prisons, but instead a suspended sentence and probation.
After a nearly six week trial and the testimony of about 49 witnesses, Murray, 58, was found guilty of administering a lethal dose of propofol, a powerful and fast-acting anesthetic, to Jackson at his Los Angeles home on June 25, 2009. The drug caused Jackson to go into cardiac arrest and testimony from the trial revealed that he died in his bedroom.
Jackson’s death was ruled a “homicide.”
A jury of seven men and five women heard endless testimony during the trial that revealed that Murray was both negligent and culpable in his treatment of Jackson for what has been called a “chronic sleep disorder.”
Immediately after the verdict was read, the judge dismissed the jury and Murray was taken away in handcuffs.
But jail time is not the only problem looming for the doctor who also faces medical licensing issues, lawsuits and possible payments to Jackson’s family.
Now with the jury’s guilty verdict, the efforts to hold Murray accountable in civil courts will speed up and the loss of his medical privileges are all but guaranteed, USA Today reported.
The Houston-based physician is being sued by Jackson’s father, embroiled in a fight with the provider of his medical malpractice insurance and may be ordered to pay restitution to Jackson’s family when he is sentenced for involuntary manslaughter on Nov. 29.
Murray’s attorneys are planning an appeal of his criminal conviction and he remains jailed without bail until his sentencing. At that hearing, prosecutors could seek restitution for Jackson’s family, although his mother and children have received millions in support from the singer’s estate since his death.
Murray’s medical license in California has been suspended since January. In Las Vegas, where Murray operates another clinic and where he first met Jackson, the doctor’s medical privileges will also likely be revoked as a result of his conviction.
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