Case against Michael Jackson’s doctor goes to jury

LOS ANGELES — The case of Michael Jackson’s doctor was placed in a jury’s hands Thursday after contentious legal arguments over who was to blame for the superstar’s death — the celebrity who craved sleep at any cost or the doctor accused of providing the drugs that killed him.

In final statements delivered in a packed courtroom, a defense attorney cast Dr. Conrad Murray as a victim of Jackson’s celebrity, saying he would never have been charged with involuntary manslaughter if his patient was someone other than Jackson.

“They want you to convict Dr. Murray for the actions of Michael Jackson,” attorney Ed Chernoff said. “This is not a reality show. It is reality.”

Prosecutor David Walgren portrayed Murray as a liar and greedy opportunist who put his own welfare before that of Jackson.

“Conrad Murray is criminally liable for the death of Michael Jackson,” he told jurors. “Not because it was Michael Jackson but because Conrad Murray is guilty of criminal negligence.”

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor submitted the case to jurors after a full day of arguments and told them to begin deliberations Friday. If convicted, Murray could receive a minimum sentence of probation or a maximum of four years.

Earlier, Walgren, in a carefully structured argument enhanced by video excerpts of witness testimony, spoke of the special relationship between a doctor and patient and said Murray had corrupted it by giving Jackson the anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid.