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Anyone is following Dr. Murray's trial?

Luzz

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Feb 19, 2008
Messages
154
Hi,
For the last week I have been watching the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's personal doctor. I got interested because I wanted to know details about how propofol is being used and all the technicalities about it.

So far I am almost becoming an expert on propofol with all the information that Leading Propofol expert Dr. Steven Shafer has provided. However I am confused why his professional collegue Dr. White will testify in favour of the defense. Both Shafer and White worked and published many academic papers on propofol and now they seem to be confronting each other in court.

Has anyone been following this case?
 
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Hi,
For the last week I have been watching the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's personal doctor. I got interested because I wanted to know details about how propofol is being used and all the technicalities about it.

So far I am almost becoming an expert on propofol with all the information that Leading Propofol expert Dr. Steven Shafer has provided. However I am confused why his professional collegue Dr. White will testify in favour of the defense. Both Shafer and White worked and published many academic papers on propofol and now they seem to be confronting each other in court.

Has anyone been following this case?
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I have to honest. I didn't shed a bloody tear when Michael Jackson died.

And really, few people outside his fan base did. Then he died and then everyone all of the sudden loves him... Whatever.

All I know is his family wasted no time to capitalize.


-- Sent from my Palm TouchPad using Communities
 
Luzz said:
Hi,
For the last week I have been watching the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's personal doctor. I got interested because I wanted to know details about how propofol is being used and all the technicalities about it.

So far I am almost becoming an expert on propofol with all the information that Leading Propofol expert Dr. Steven Shafer has provided. However I am confused why his professional collegue Dr. White will testify in favour of the defense. Both Shafer and White worked and published many academic papers on propofol and now they seem to be confronting each other in court.

Has anyone been following this case?
Click to expand...
I haven't followed the case. Neither Michael Jackson nor propofol interests me.

As far as Shafer and White are concerned, my guess is that they were paid very well to be there.
 
Didn't follow the case but, like the Amanda Knox trial, I had to watch the verdict being read. Watching people react to life-changing news is pretty interesting.
 
I heard the jury came out dressed a zombies and sang the verdict:

'Cause you're a killer, killer right
And no one's gonna save you from the judge about strike
You know it's killer, killer right?
You're fighting for your life killer, a killer tonight
 
kajata said:
Didn't follow the case but, like the Amanda Knox trial, I had to watch the verdict being read. Watching people react to life-changing news is pretty interesting.
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I only knew the trial was going on because The Soup occasionally had bits about it. Yet, somehow, I managed to be standing in a liquor store while the verdict was being read on the TV, listening to a middle-aged peroxide blonde and a firefighter discuss the result. I'll never forget where I was, just because it seemed so weird.
 
BBC said Murray was being paid £100,000 a week. Or was it dollars? He provided Jackson with all sorts of powerful drugs, including propofol, but not the care that was necessary for patients under the influence of the stuff.

If an anaesthetist puts you under with Milk of Amnesia, you will not be left alone for a second. You will be monitored continually, and a complete record kept of your vital signs so that action can be taken if there is anything out of the ordinary happening. Jackson was alone in the room. That's gross negligence, any way you slice it.

It seems that both Jackson and Murray have become utterly blase about the power and potential of modern pharmaceuticals. Murray is the one who should have known better. I feel a bit sorry for the guy, because it was probably a case of "little by little", and he was seduced by the money.

But not that sorry. Good verdict.

Rolfe.
 
Rolfe said:
BBC said Murray was being paid £100,000 a week. Or was it dollars? He provided Jackson with all sorts of powerful drugs, including propofol, but not the care that was necessary for patients under the influence of the stuff.

If an anaesthetist puts you under with Milk of Amnesia, you will not be left alone for a second. You will be monitored continually, and a complete record kept of your vital signs so that action can be taken if there is anything out of the ordinary happening. Jackson was alone in the room. That's gross negligence, any way you slice it.

It seems that both Jackson and Murray have become utterly blase about the power and potential of modern pharmaceuticals. Murray is the one who should have known better. I feel a bit sorry for the guy, because it was probably a case of "little by little", and he was seduced by the money.

But not that sorry. Good verdict.

Rolfe.
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The blurb I heard on the radio was $250k/month so the £100k/wk seems about right.

I also have not been paying attention, other than to occasional soundbites. Until today I thought that he was charged with murder, with seemed a bit extreme. Hearing that the charge was involuntary manslaughter, the guilty verdict does not seem outrageous. If you are a doctor with only one patient, and that patient dies from a drug that you administered, then negligence is likely the cause. Hearing a bit about the specifics of propofol and his leaving him unattended, then it is criminal negligence

The problem was that he was being vastly overpaid for his services, likely because of willingness to supply Jackson with the drugs he requested. He knew that being responsible about the drugs would lose him his cash cow. He didn't stop to think that doing what his client requested would have the same effect (I am certain he has been unemployed since Jackson's death) with the additional cost of losing his freedom

I agree that based on what little I know, the verdict sounds right and I have a hard time mustering up any sympathy for the guy.
 
No, $250,000 a month is not £100,000 a week. I probably dropped a stitch somewhere. Eyewatering quantities of cash, anyway.

I wonder how hard Jackson had to search to find a doctor who could be bought to that extent? Maybe he should have realised that someone like that was not a good person to trust his life to.

Rolfe.
 
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I followed it against my will. We're supposed to leave the break room TV on HLN, and they decided that much like the Casey Anthony trial, they were going to follow it 24/7, ignore other headline news that was going on and pretend to be Court TV. They even replayed scenes from the trial on the weekend. (I did 'accidentally' switch it to CNN a few times, and I had no idea CNN was such a decent news source.)

The man is pretty clearly guilty. There were some many things that were gross negligence that you'd have to pretty much ignore everything he did. Yes, Jackson himself is mostly to blame for his own death, but Murry is to blame for letting himself be a part of it. You can't stop a man from hanging himself, but you don't need to hold the rope.
 
I am very pleased with the guilty verdict.
I followed the trial the last two weeks, I got hooked when the two anesthesiologists started giving testimony (Dr. White and Dr. Schafer) and kind of started a professional fight against each other. I am still amazed on how the story of the two doctors developed.

I don't think this is a matter on whether or not we liked Michael Jackson, it was about how a greedy medical doctor violated every single standard of care just for money. He was being paid 150,000 dollars per month to be exact. So I am extremely happy for the verdict.
 
Luzz said:
He was being paid 150,000 dollars per month to be exact. So I am extremely happy for the verdict.
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In that case, what I heard was probably £100,000 per month. That would figure about right. Sorry for the confusion.

Rolfe.
 
Spindrift said:
I haven't followed the case. Neither Michael Jackson nor propofol interests me.

As far as Shafer and White are concerned, my guess is that they were paid very well to be there.
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Stumbled on the case while searching stuff on anesthetic for animals shortly before the castration of my ataxic cat (isoflurane, ketamine). Go figure.
 
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Dr. White was paid $11,000 dollars plus 3500 per day on trial, by his admission. He was with the defense, said that Michael injected himself propofol and swalled pills, so clearing Dr. Murray of any wrong doing.

Dr. Shafer was paid $0 dollars, he just spoked as a professional, with no bias. Dr. White used to be his teacher while he was a medical student.
 
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