Dr. Conrad Murray, the late King of Pop’s doctor, pleads not guilty in a courtroom packed with international media and the singer’s family.

On Monday, the Los Angeles prosecutors filed a long-anticipated involuntary manslaughter charge against Michael Jackson’s personal physician as the coroner’s office made public a report concluding that the care the singer received in the final hours of his life violated accepted medical standards.

Dr. Conrad Murray, a cardiologist hired to care for Jackson during the pop star’s ambitious comeback attempt last year, pleaded not guilty before a courtroom near Los Angeles International Airport packed with international media and members of the entertainer’s famous family. Outside, a handful of fans held signs and wore T-shirts reading “Justice for Michael.”

The 51-page coroner’s office report of Jackson’s June 25 death suggests that to prove manslaughter, prosecutors, who worked closely with the office’s medical investigators and experts in building a criminal case, will focus on Murray’s use of the operating-room anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid.

The coroner’s office previously said Jackson died from “acute propofol intoxication” in combination with the use of sedatives. The report released Monday went further, describing the level of anesthetic as enough to render a patient unconscious for “major surgery.”
Source: LATimes.