Jurors considering the case against Michael Jackson’s doctor ended their first day of deliberations on Friday without reaching a verdict or asking any questions indicating how far along they have gotten in their discussions.
The seven-man, five-woman panel was given highlighters and blank forms to request evidence after starting deliberations on Friday morning.
They recessed at about 4pm and were set to resume discussions tomorrow.
The jury must reach a unanimous verdict to either convict or acquit Conrad Murray of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson’s June 2009 death.
Jackson died from a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol and Murray has acknowledged giving Jackson propofol to help him sleep.
The jury is not sequestered and will deliberate during the court’s regular hours. A verdict will be read the same day it is reached.
During closing arguments of the six-week trial, attorneys for the Houston-based cardiologist attacked prosecutors and their witnesses, saying they had over time developed stories and theories that placed the blame for Jackson’s death squarely on Murray.
Prosecutors countered that Murray was an opportunistic and inept doctor who left Jackson’s three children without a father. They said that Murray giving Jackson propofol as a sleeping aid violated standards of care and amounted to a secret experiment in which the doctor kept no records.
Media were stationed on Friday outside the courthouse and in the courtroom where the jury’s decision will eventually be read.
Attorneys handling the case will receive a two-hour notice when a verdict is reached. Murray waived the need for his presence if the panel asks any questions, but he must be present when a verdict is announced.
Jurors heard from 49 witnesses and have more than 300 pieces of evidence to consider. They were given lengthy instructions by the judge about how to deliberate.
If Murray is convicted, he faces a sentence ranging from probation to four years behind bars, and he would lose his medical license.
MONEY MATTERS: Xi was to highlight projects such as a new high-speed railway between Belgrade and Budapest, as Serbia is entirely open to Chinese trade and investment Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic yesterday said that “Taiwan is China” as he made a speech welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to Belgrade, state broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) said. “We have a clear and simple position regarding Chinese territorial integrity,” he told a crowd outside the government offices while Xi applauded him. “Yes, Taiwan is China.” Xi landed in Belgrade on Tuesday night on the second leg of his European tour, and was greeted by Vucic and most government ministers. Xi had just completed a two-day trip to France, where he held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron as the
With the midday sun blazing, an experimental orange and white F-16 fighter jet launched with a familiar roar that is a hallmark of US airpower, but the aerial combat that followed was unlike any other: This F-16 was controlled by artificial intelligence (AI), not a human pilot, and riding in the front seat was US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall. AI marks one of the biggest advances in military aviation since the introduction of stealth in the early 1990s, and the US Air Force has aggressively leaned in. Even though the technology is not fully developed, the service is planning
INTERNATIONAL PROBE: Australian and US authorities were helping coordinate the investigation of the case, which follows the 2015 murder of Australian surfers in Mexico Three bodies were found in Mexico’s Baja California state, the FBI said on Friday, days after two Australians and an American went missing during a surfing trip in an area hit by cartel violence. Authorities used a pulley system to hoist what appeared to be lifeless bodies covered in mud from a shaft on a cliff high above the Pacific. “We confirm there were three individuals found deceased in Santo Tomas, Baja California,” a statement from the FBI’s office in San Diego, California, said without providing the identities of the victims. Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Jack Carter
CUSTOMS DUTIES: France’s cognac industry was closely watching the talks, fearing that an anti-dumping investigation opened by China is retaliation for trade tensions French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at one of his beloved childhood haunts in the Pyrenees, seeking to press a message to Beijing not to support Russia’s war against Ukraine and to accept fairer trade. The first day of Xi’s state visit to France, his first to Europe since 2019, saw respectful, but sometimes robust exchanges between the two men during a succession of talks on Monday. Macron, joined initially by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urged Xi not to allow the export of any technology that could be used by Russia in its invasion