On Oct. 19, prosecutors in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray presented their final witness to jurors, anesthesiologist Dr. Steven Shafer. According to the medical expert, late pop icon Michael Jackson couldn’t have caused his own death, but instead died because of Murray.
According to CBS News, Dr. Shafer’s claims were a direct response to a report from defense expert Dr. Paul White, who claimed that Jackson may have caused his own death by ingesting the powerful anesthetic propofol. But as the propofol expert explained, the notion is impossible because when propofol is swallowed it does not enter the bloodstream, but during the autopsy, coroner’s officials found the drug in Jackson’s bloodstream.
According to Billboard, during his testimony, Shafer pointed out 17 flagrant violations of standard care committed byMurray. Shafer argued that Murray was “clueless” about the proper use of propofol and acted irresponsibly in satisfying Jackson’s request for the drug, allegedly for a sleeping aid.
“Saying yes is not what doctors do. A competent doctor would know you do not do this.”He added, “If a patient requests something frivolous or dangerous, it is the doctor’s responsibility to say no.”
Shafer also showed jurors a video detailing the necessary safety measures needed to administer propofol and detailed how Murray failed to follow the safety measures when administering the drug to Jackson.
“The worst disasters occur in sedation and they occur when people cut corners,” Shafer said. In Jackson’s case, “virtually none of the safeguards were in place,” he added.
According to Shafer, Murray, who was previously accused of calling his girlfriends during Jackson’s final hours, says the physician should have been properly monitoring his patient instead of making phone calls.
“A patient who is about to die does not look all that different from a patient who is OK,” Shafer said, adding that doctors cannot multitask and properly monitor a patient who is sedated.
Shafer also touched upon Murray’s drug orders for propofol, saying that the doctor intended to give Jacksonlarge doses of the drug on a nightly basis. Shafer also presented jurors with records showing that in the three months prior to Jackson’s death, Murray purchased one hundred and thirty 100ml vials of propofol, saying that is “an extraordinary amount to purchase to administer to a single individual.”
While narrating the video, the anesthesiologist also criticized Murray for failing to keep records of Jackson’s propofol treatment, adding that his negligence was a violation of his patient’s rights.
“He has a right to know what was done to him,” Shafer said. “With no medical record, the family has been denied that right.”
As prosecutors begin to discuss Jackson’s death, Shafer was asked about Murray’s failure to call 911 when the King of Pop fell unconscious, leaving the witness nearly speechless.
“I almost don’t know what to say. That is so completely and utterly inexcusable,” replied Shafer.
According to Shafer, Murray’s medical negligence has turned the world of pharmacology upside down and left many patients suspicious of their physicians.
“We are in pharmacological never-never land here; something that was done to Michael Jackson and no one else in history to my knowledge,” he told jurors.
Shafer, who testified for the prosecution pro bono, added, “I am asked every day in the operating room, ‘Are you going to give me the drug that killed Michael Jackson?” Shafer said, hoping to restore public confidence in propofol use. “This is a fear that patients do not need to have.”
As questioning from the prosecution came to a close, Shafer put the final nail in the proverbial coffin when asked if he believed Murray was responsible for Jackson’s death.
“Would it be your opinion that Conrad Murray is directly responsible for the death of Michael Jackson for his egregious violations and abandonment of Michael Jackson?” asked Prosecutor David Walgren, to which Shafer replied, “Absolutely.”
In the coming days, Murray’s defense team will question Shafer and introduce their witnesses to jurors. Considering the prosecution’s impressive case, Murray’s defense team has their work cut out for them. – nicholas robinson
