I have no doubt that Michael Jackson was the greatest entertainer of all time. But I also have no doubt that he was partly to blame for his own “timely” death.
Of course, I appreciate that for most of his fans these two points are irreconcilable. Therefore, all I’m going to say about Michael’s blame is that his (prescription) drug habit, as well as the doctor shopping he engaged in to feed it, was an open secret.
Dr. Conrad Murray was only the latest quack who jumped at the chance to make a quick buck ($5 million to be exact) by serving as Michael’s in-house drug dealer in the guise of serving as his doctor.
That said, I have no doubt that Murray is guilty of involuntary manslaughter as charged. For there’s clear and convincing evidence that the care he provided Michael was not just sub-standard, but criminally negligent.
For example, it was bad enough that he was administering the drug propofol to the clearly addicted king of pop in his home, when any responsible and competent doctor knows that this drug should only ever be administered in a hospital under the care of a properly trained anesthesiologist.
But when Michael was presenting obvious symptoms of dying from an overdose, the evidence indicates that Murray seemed not only unable to perform CPR competently, but also more concerned about getting rid of the evidence of his criminally negligent care before calling 911.
Then there’s the fatuous defense that he administered the propofol on every occasion except on that fatal occasion when Michael overdosed. Because this is rather like a parent pleading that she gave her kid valium to treat his ADHD on many occasions except on that fatal occasion when he overdosed.
As a lawyer, I certainly appreciate all of the procedural due process unfolding in that California courtroom. But there’s no gainsaying that celebrity trials these days are more about star-gazing, TV-pundit-making hype than about justice.
Incidentally, my heart goes out to the Jackson family. But mindful as I am about the estrangement that existed between Michael and almost all of them, I cannot help wondering about the ulterior motives behind their publicity-grasping show of support. His sister La Toya is tweeting from the courtroom everyday as if she’s an analyst providing color commentary on a sporting event for Christ’s sake.
And am I the only one who thinks there’s a delusional gene running through that family – given their insistence that Michael fathered those three white kids … naturally?
Nothing is more pathetic than watching his siblings on TV going on about how they look just like Michael – oblivious to the fact that surgically or cosmetically altered features (like his pointed nose, bleached skin, and long wig) cannot be inherited.
(52nd Annual Grammy Awards, The iPINIONS Journal, February 1, 2010)
In any case, Murray has been a guilty man walking ever since Michael died on June 25, 2009. The only real issue now is whether he’ll be sentenced to the max, which in this case is only four years. I say yes.
Related commentaries:
MJ: worth more dead than alive
52nd Annual Grammy Awards