Conrad Murray, Jackson's doctor, culpable for death

Dr. Conrad Murray, personal physician to the late singer Michael Jackson, is almost guilty of murder. While the court has determined that he did not mean to kill his patient, he did willingly engage in such activity that led to the death of Jackson, a figure almost as famous for his unorthodox lifestyle as his singing and dancing career. It is alleged that Jackson was addicted to numerous prescription medications. So is the powerful anesthetic, propofol, the real “smoking gun” in this crime?
 Known also by its brand name, Diprivan, propofol is used as a fast acting anesthetic during surgical procedures, according to APP Pharmiceuticals, the drug’s provider. It is only supposed to be administered interveneously by anesthesiologists and intranalists; Murray belongs to neither of these specialties. He is, in fact, a cardiologist. His educational background, however, is definitely adequate. Having graduated from Meherry Medical College, he completed his residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center and continued with additional training at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Arizona during the course of a cardiac fellowship. Before beginning his own private practice, he worked as the associate director for the interventional cardiology fellowship training program at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego.
 Interventional? Derived from the same root as the verb, “to intervene?” This is sadly ironic. To have intervened on Michael Jackson’s behalf would have meant denying him access to propofol and many other medications. It would have meant that Murray be continuously present with Jackson during the administering of any anesthetic or drug he did allow. Furthermore, it would have meant being prepared with emergency equipment to monitor blood pressure, respiration and heart rate. Murray could not have intervened because, not only was he not present, but also he was not in a surgical setting with all the necessary emergency equipment. Obviously, he did not see the importance of taking these precautions in Jackson’s home where his prescriptions were most often administered.
 The day of Jackson’s death, in the early morning hours, Murray gave him valium, lorazepam and midazolum before administering propofol. How, as a cardiologist, could he not have known that the combination of these drugs, never mind the potential side effects of propofol alone, could risk respiratory depression leading to cardiac arrest? When Murray “came back,” as he said, to find Jackson not breathing and with a weak pulse, he spent 82 minutes trying to reverse the adverse effects of propofol. Murray not only applied CPR, but also administered flumazenil in an attempt to reverse sedation. This is a clear case of too little too late.
 If propofol is the “smoking gun” that killed Michael Jackson, Murray’s negligence was the finger on the trigger. He did not enter Jackson’s mansion with the intent to kill him, but he did obtain propofol illegally and administered it under illegal and dangerous circumstances. The same substance that Jackson referred to as his “milk” was the very agent that brought about his death.