Michael Jackson fans cheered and his family members hailed as a triumph the verdict that found Conrad Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the singer’s death.
The Thriller singer died in June 2009 at age 50 from an overdose of sedatives and the surgical anesthetic propofol, which Murray, his personal physician, administered to Jackson as a sleep aid.
Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, and elder sister Rebbie cried silently as the guilty verdict was read.
PHOTO: AFP
As she left the courtroom, Katherine was asked by reporters if she was pleased and her answer was simply: “I am.”
“Justice was served. Michael is with us,” his brother, Jermaine, told reporters.
Other family members, including father Joe Jackson and siblings La Toya and Randy were whisked away from the court building in cars and did not talk to the media.
However, on Twitter, La Toya posted: “VICTORY!!!!!!” and later tweeted: “Michael I love you and I will continue to fight until ALL are brought to justice!”
Murray faces up to four years in jail when he is sentenced on Nov. 29.
Prosecutors said they were “gratified” at the outcome.
“We finally want to extend our sympathies to the Jackson family — especially to Prince, Paris and Blanket. They have lost a beloved father. Nothing can make up for that loss,” Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley said.
Asked by reporters if he was disappointed, Murray’s attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, told reporters: “Of course,” but the defense did not make a statement.
Jackson’s friends weighed in, too.
Civil rights activist Al Sharpton released a statement saying he had “mixed emotions” that Murray wasn’t given greater punishment, but “was pleased that this jury didn’t blame Michael for his own death.”
The six-week trial took place without much of the media hype and fan attention surrounding Jackson’s 2005 trial on charges of child molestation, but by the time the verdict was handed down on Monday afternoon, about 100 fans had gathered outside the Los Angeles courthouse and cheered the verdict.
Some fans shouted: “Thank you judge,” and passersby honked their car horns as others sang and danced to Jackson’s songs, such as Beat It and the old Jackson Five hit ABC.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in