California Supreme Court Refuses To Review Conviction Of Murray

Bonnie Lamrock April 24, 2014 News

Article by: LINDA DEUTSCH Associated Press

Updated: April 23, 2014 - 6:25 PM

LOS ANGELES — The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to review the involuntary manslaughter conviction of Michael Jackson’s doctor, rejecting his lawyer’s petition without comment.

The decision by the state’s highest court was the latest stop on Dr. Conrad Murray’s legal odyssey. A state appeals court upheld his conviction earlier this year and then refused to reconsider its decision.

Attorney Valerie Waas said Murray will take his fight to federal court.

“We’re greatly disappointed but we intend to pursue this in federal court,” Waas said.

She said she telephoned Murray with the news and, “He said, ‘The fight is not over.’”

Authorities said Murray gave Jackson a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol in 2009 while the singer prepared for a series of comeback concerts.

Murray was convicted in 2011 and served two years in jail. He was released in October due to a change in California law requiring nonviolent offenders to serve their sentences in county jails and as a result of credits for good behavior.

The six-week trial focused on Murray’s care of Jackson, including nightly doses of propofol to help the entertainer sleep.

The earlier appellate court decision said, “The evidence demonstrated that Mr. Jackson was a vulnerable victim and that (Murray) was in a position of trust, and that (Murray) violated the trust relationship by breaching standards of professional conduct in numerous respects.”