As the involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson’s former physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, nears its end, jurors are hearing the last bit of testimony from the defense’s witnesses. But the question on everyone’s mind is, will Murray take the stand to testify in his defense? But as Murray explained to a judge on Oct. 31, he hasn’t decided yet whether he will testify or not.
Last week, Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor reminded Murray that he had the option of testifying in his own trial and told him that he expected a decision by week’s end. According to Billboard, yesterday Pastor asked Murray if he’d decided on whether or not he wanted to testify, to which the physician replied, “I will still need more time to talk to my counsel about it.”
Murray said he would let Pastor know his decision by tomorrow, though many expect that Murray will relinquish the right to take the stand.
During the day, Murray also heard one of his defense team’s witnesses, Dr. Paul White, a anesthesiologist who previously testified that he believed Jackson injected himself with a fatal dose of propofol, concede that Murray ignored medical care standards by providing the King of Pop with the powerful anesthetic.
“Without careful bedside monitoring, it could be dangerous,” said White, while being cross-examined by prosecutor David Walgren, according to the Los Angeles Times.
When asked if such negligence could have resulted in death, White replied, “If the infusion somehow opened up widely … certainly you could achieve a significant effect that could result in cardiopulmonary arrest.”
White also admitted to jurors that he couldn’t explain Murray’s choice to provide Jackson propofol when asked he or any other physician’s he knows of have administered the anesthetic to patients at home, White replied that he hasn’t.
When discussing Murray’s 20-minute delay in calling 911 after Jackson fell unconscious, White suggested that Murray “reacted as many physicians would. He was probably very anxious and in those situations, it is very stressful for anyone.”
Scoffing at the suggestion, Walgren mentioned the fact that Murray had a cellphone in hand during those critical moments and snapped back, “Are you saying he wasn’t capable of pressing 911?”
Walgren wasn’t the only one whose feathers were being ruffled by White. Throughout the day, White continued to reference information he learned from “two extensive conversations” he had with Murray, despite the fact that those discussion were not admissible in court. After repeated objections from Walgren, Pastor sent the jurors out of the courtroom and discussed the issue with White and the lawyers.
Walgren argued that White was intentionally referencing his conversations with Murray, while defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan argued that White couldn’t be expected to recall any specific information he got from the discussions.
However, Pastor sided with Walgren and chided the defense for White’s actions.
“Nice try,” Pastor said. “This is so obvious … He’s trying at every juncture to add in other material. It’s deliberate, I don’t like it, it’s not going to happen again.”
According to MTV News, Pastor scheduled a contempt hearing for White in November and threatened him with a $1,000 fine if found guilty. –nicholas robinson
