Dr. Conrad Murray remains expressionless next to his attorney J. Michael Flanagan (L) after the jury returned with a guilty verdict in his involuntary manslaughter trial in Los Angeles November 7, 2011.(Agencies) |
Michael Jackson was killed with a lethal dose of anaesthetic by his personal physician Dr Conrad Murray, a jury has decided at the doctor's trial in Los Angeles. Following a six-week case, cardiologist Dr Conrad Murray, 58, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after the jury decided his treatment of the singer had been criminally negligent. Murray, who will lose his medical licence, sat stone-faced as the unanimous verdict was delivered. He was handcuffed and remanded in custody for sentencing on Nov 29. He faces a maximum sentence of up to four years in prison. In court, members of the late singer’s family shouted “Yes” as the verdict came down. Jackson’s mother Katherine sobbed quietly. Later, outside court, she said: “I feel better now.” As Murray, wearing a light grey suit, was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs he cast a final glance at his own mother, who whispered the words “I love you.” Jackson died on June 25 2009, at a rented Los Angeles mansion where Murray had been treating him for chronic insomnia during rehearsals for a series of 50 comeback concerts at the O2 Arena in London. A coroner later concluded that the singer, 50, died in his bed from “acute intoxication” as a result of the anaesthetic propofol. Murray had admitted giving Jackson a small amount of propofol, a powerful surgical anaesthetic intended only for use in hospitals, but claimed it should not have been enough to kill him. Defence lawyers claimed Jackson injected himself with an extra, lethal dose of the drug while Murray had stepped out of the room for “two minutes” to use the bathroom. But the jury of seven men and five women decided, after less than nine hours deliberation, that Murray was responsible for the singer’s death. The doctor was portrayed by prosecutors as a substandard professional who ordered an “extraordinary” four gallons of propofol from a pharmacy, and then gave nightly doses of the drug to Jackson for two months without proper safety equipment. At the time he noticed Jackson had stopped breathing Murray was on the phone to a cocktail waitress in Houston instead of monitoring his patient, the court heard. Murray then failed to contact emergency services for more than 20 minutes, during which time he attempted to hide vials of drugs and an IV bag which the prosecution said had been used to administer the propofol. (Read by Emily Cheng. Emily Cheng is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies)
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洛杉矶一家法院的陪审团近日认定,迈克尔•杰克逊死于服用过量的麻醉剂。他生前的私人医生康拉德•默里过失杀人罪名成立。 在六周的诉讼后,58岁的心脏病专家康拉德•默里医生被判过失杀人罪,陪审团认为他置杰克逊的生死于不顾。 陪审团成员一致同意后做出这项裁决。裁决宣布时,默里面无表情。他将丢掉医生执照。 默里被戴上手铐关押起来,等待本月29日的宣判。他将面临最多4年监禁。 陪审团宣布决定时,已故天王杰克逊的家人大喊“胜利啦”。杰克逊的母亲凯瑟琳轻声哭了起来。随后,她在法庭外面说:“我感觉好多了。” 身穿浅灰色西装的默里戴着手铐被带到法庭外时,他朝自己的母亲看了最后一眼,母亲低声说:“我爱你”。 杰克逊于2009年6月25日在洛杉矶租住的豪宅中去世,默里一直在那里治疗他的慢性失眠症,当时杰克逊正参加定于伦敦O2体育场举办的50场回归演唱会的彩排。 验尸官随后断定,50岁的杰克逊由于注射了过量麻醉剂异丙酚,导致“急性中毒”,死在了床上。默里承认给杰克逊注射了少量异丙酚,但认为不足以导致杰克逊死亡。异丙酚是一种强效外科麻醉剂,本应只在医院使用。 辩护律师认为,杰克逊趁默里去洗手间的“两分钟”,自行注射了致命剂量的药物。但7位男性和5位女性组成的陪审团在将近9小时的讨论后认为,默里应对杰克逊的死亡负责。 据检察官描述,默里是个不称职的医生,从药房订购了“超量的”4加仑异丙酚,在两个月内每晚都给杰克逊注射,而且没有适当的安全装置。 法庭陈述称,在发现杰克逊停止呼吸时,默里正和休斯敦的一个鸡尾酒女招待通话,而不是在观察他的病人。在杰克逊死后的20多分钟内,默里没有联系急救,而是试图藏起药瓶和静脉注射包,检察官称这些正是注射异丙酚所用。 相关阅读 (中国日报网英语点津 Julie 编辑:陈丹妮) |
Vocabulary: anaesthetic: 麻醉剂,麻醉的 involuntary manslaughter: 过失杀人罪 lethal dose: 致命剂量 IV: intravenous的缩写,静脉内的,静脉注射的 |