LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Dr Conrad Murray’s defense in the death of Michael Jackson suffered major blows yesterday when his attorneys dropped a claim that the singer swallowed a fatal dose of an anesthetic, and two doctors slammed his treatment standards.
As the prosecution neared the end of its case in the third week of the involuntary manslaughter trial, the two doctors testified that even if Jackson gave himself propofol, Murray would still be responsible for his death.
“It’s like leaving a baby that’s sleeping on your kitchen countertop,” Dr. Alon Steinberg told jurors. “You look at it and it’s probably going to be OK and you’re just going to go grab some diapers or go to the bathroom but you would never do it.”
Murray, who denies involuntary manslaughter, has admitted giving Jackson a relatively small dose of 25 milligrams of propofol — which is normally used in surgery — as a sleep aid on June 25, 2009.
