Jackson's doctor gets 4 years in jail

 

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor gave Murray the maximum sentence and said the physician engaged in "money for medicine madness that is simply not acceptable to me."

Murray, 58, put on a grey fit with pink paisley tie, sat emotionless through the sentencing. Just before being led out from the trial, he blew a hug to an unfamiliar lady who yelled "we really like you" to the charged fantastic.

Judge Erina Priest of Los Angeles Excellent Courtroom said Dr. Murray's $150,000-a-month publish with the pop celebrity constituted "money-for-medicine chaos."

Under guidelines designed to reduce crowding, Dr. Murray will serve less than half of the sentence, the maximum for which he was eligible, a sheriff's department spokesman said.

The sentencing, which was watched by Jackson family members including matriarch Katherine, follows a jury verdict this month that found Dr. Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter after treating Mr. Jackson's insomnia with a powerful sedative.

Dr. Murray's lawyers submitted a 45-page memorandum, along with 35 character-reference letters, as part of a request for probation instead of incarceration. The lead attorney, Ed Chernoff, urged Judge Pastor to consider "the entirety of a man's book of life, as opposed to one chapter." He added: "In 56 years, he never committed a crime, never ran afoul of the law." Dr. Murray is now 58 years old.

The judge said he agreed that Murray should have to pay restitution to Jackson's estate and three children, and scheduled a new hearing for Jan. 23. The prosecution had asked for Murray to pay $100 million to compensate Jackson's family for the lost earnings the singer would have made from the London comeback shows.

Defence lawyer Michael Flanagan said the amount of compensation set was academic, since Murray could not pay. "Everything over a couple of dollars he's not going to have the ability to pay anyway," he said.

Murray's actual time behind bars in an L.A. County jail is likely to be much less than four years, as the L.A. County Sheriff typically cuts jail terms due to prison overcrowding and other issues.

The judge noted that Murray had already served 46 days, while L.A. district attorney Steve Cooley warned his "sentence might be very short," noting that actress Lindsay Lohan recently spent just five hours in jail for a 30-day term.

Defence lawyer Flanagan, asked how Murray would cope with his jail time, said: "He's an honourable man, and he will get through it."

In a statement read in court before sentence was passed, Jackson's family said it was not seeking revenge.

"As Michael's parents we could never have imagined that we would live to witness his passing. It is simply against the natural order of things," it said. "As his brothers and sisters we will never be able to hold, laugh or perform again with our brother Michael. And as his children we will grow up without a father, our best friend, our playmate and our dad."