Michael Jackson’s personal doctor pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter yesterday, as the date was set for his trial for allegedly killing the pop icon in June 2009.
Conrad Murray is to stand trial on March 28 on charges he gave Jackson an overdose of a powerful sedative, his lawyer said after an arraignment hearing at the Los Angeles Superior Court. The arraignment followed six days of preliminary hearings earlier this month.
“Dr Murray is looking forward to the opportunity to finally tell his side of the story,” lawyer Ed Chernoff told reporters after the hearing.
“Dr Murray has absolute faith in the jury system,” he said.
A prosecution voiced confidence that the charges against Dr Murray would be proven.
“The prosecution will be able to produce evidence that will fully support the charge against Dr Murray,” said Sandi Gibbons of the office of the Los Angeles county district attorney.
Murray, who claims he was just administering an insomnia treatment when the singer died in June 2009, pleaded not guilty at an arraignment court appearance after preliminary hearings found enough evidence against him to stand trial.
The doctor had his license to practice medicine in California suspended after six days of pre-trial hearings, which included evidence that Dr Murray tried to cover up giving Jackson an overdose of the drug propofol.
Jackson’s death shocked the entertainment world and triggered intense debate over the performer’s health in the run-up to London concerts, known as the This Is It tour.
Dr Murray could face up to four years in jail and permanently lose his doctor’s license if he is convicted.
Prosecutors allege that Dr Murray, 57, “abandoned his patient” after administering the propofol some time between 10.40 a.m. and 11 a.m. to help Jackson sleep, and then tried to cover it up after the singer’s death.
Dr Murray acknowledged that he had used propofol to treat Jackson’s chronic insomnia, but insisted that on the day of the 50-year-old singer’s death he administered only a small amount of the drug that should not have been fatal.
His defence team has suggested that Jackson could have effectively killed himself on June 25, 2009, by administering an extra dose of propofol while Dr Murray was out of the room.
On the last day of pre-trial hearings a forensic expert testified that Jackson’s death was a homicide, saying the singer was in generally good health on the day when he died at his Los Angeles mansion.
Christopher Rogers, head of forensic medicine for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, said the star died of acute intoxication with propofol, which is usually used as an anesthetic in hospital settings.
He said he would describe Jackson’s death as a homicide even if, as claimed by Dr Murray, the singer had himself administered an extra dose of propofol while the doctor was out of the room.
“Based on the quality of the medical care, I would still call this a homicide, even if the doctor did not provide the propofol to Mr Jackson,” he said during the second week of the pre-trial hearings.
During the preliminary hearings the court heard from a series of witnesses who testified that Murray delayed calling 911, tried to conceal what drugs he had administered, and did not know how to carry out emergency resuscitation.