Dr. Conrad Murray Sentenced To Maximum 4 Years In County Jail, Doesn’t Address Court
May 28 2018, Updated 10:10 a.m. ET
By Breaking Celebrity News Staff
Dr. Conrad Murray has been formally sentenced to four years in the Los Angeles County Jail by Judge Michael Pastor for his role in the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson.
Prior to sentencing, Murray did not address the court; neither did any member of the Jackson family. Rather, Brian Panish, attorney and friend of the Jacksons, read a statement on the family's behalf.
In it, Panish said: "We are not here to seek revenge. There is nothing you can do here today to bring Michael back. But we will keep the love in our hearts that Michael embodied throughout his life. His passion was for unifying the world through the gift of his artistry.
DOCUMENT: Read Dr. Conrad Murray's Probation Report
"We respectfully request that you impose a sentence that reminds physicians that they cannot sell their services to the highest bidder and cast aside their Hippocratic oath to do no harm. As we all know from this tragedy, doing so can have devastating results.
"The Bible reminds us that men cannot do justice, they can only seek justice. That is all that we ask as a family. And that is all that we can ask for here."
Deputy District Attorney David Walgren then addressed the court, asking the judge to impose the maximum four year sentence and deny probation. Said Walgren: "The planning and sophistication of the crime... There's clear evidence of the planning and sophistication that went into this. The defendant clearly and intentionally did not keep medical records. When it came to the treatment of the patient with propofol...he made a decision not to document that behavior in any written manner. That doctor/patient relationship was fundamentally destroyed by Dr. Murray. It is the People's position that prison is warranted. The defendant was playing Russian Roulette with Michael Jackson's life every single night."
Dr. Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, asserted that