Yesterday Dr. Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary man-slaughter for medicine he administered that led to the death of music icon Michael Jackson.
Murray, a deeply religious man, can be seen on TMZ leaving church the day before the verdict was read.
Dr. Conrad Murray attended West Angeles Church of God on Crenshaw Boulevard, where Bishop Charles E. Blake is the Pastor. In service Rev. White with the church told Murray that to find the peace he sought he needed Jesus. “You can have Hollywood,’ Rev White told Murray, ‘but who you really need is Jesus.” Later on Rev. White would say, “If you chase Jesus…God can wipe the slate clean.”
While walking to the car Murray tells the photographer that “God is good,” and that he “loves the Lord.”
Now that the trial moves on to the sentencing phase, Conrad Murray faces up to four years in jail. After the verdict was read, Murray was immediately handcuffed and taken away by deputies after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor denied bail.
“This is not a crime involving a mistake of judgment. … This was a crime where the end result was the death of a human being,” Judge Pastor said in explaining his decision to remand Murray to police custody. “That factor demonstrates rather dramatically that the public should be protected.”
Sentencing was set for November 29, with Murray facing up to four years in prison on the conviction.
Defense attorney Ed Chernoff told CNN the defense team’s main job right now is to prepare for sentencing and limit the amount of time that Murray spends in jail.
“What matters most right now is trying to keep Dr. Murray from taking up a prison cell in this community,” Chernoff said. “That’s what we’re focusing on right now and we’ll deal with an appeal after that.”
When asked if he was shocked by the verdict, Chernoff said, “No.”
Another of Murray’s lawyers, Nareg Gourjian, told CNN on Monday night the outcome may have been different had the defense been able to introduce additional evidence — like on Jackson’s past drug use and “financial condition.”
Gourjian described his client as “devastated” by the verdict, adding Murray is trying to stay positive with more legal options ahead of him.
“We’re hoping that the appeals court will have something to say about this,” the lawyer said. Murray served as Jackson’s personal physician as Jackson prepared for his comeback concerts, with Murray giving him the surgical anesthetic propofol to help him sleep nearly every night for the last two months of his life, according to testimony. The drug propofol is a drug that’s normally only administered in hospital situations.
