Michael Jackson: Death By Dependence on Drugs and Sycophants?

Today the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is likely to file criminal charges against Dr. Conrad Murray.  As of this writing specific charges have not been disclosed.  However it is speculated that he will be charged with involuntary manslaughter for administering a combination of drugs that led to Jackson’s death.

On January 8th a search warrant issued in Houston for the office and storage facilities of Dr. Conrad Murray helps to confirm that the Los Angeles coroner’s office believes Michael Jackson died from an overdose of propofol.

Dr. Murray’s attorney, Ed Chernoff, is saying that his client didn’t do anything that would have killed Jackson.  Of course that is what attorneys get paid for, but in this case Mr. Chernoff is likely to be proved wrong.

Dr. Murray has admitted to administering propofol to Jackson over a six-week period to treat insomnia.  When that seemed to fail and Dr. Murray thought Jackson was becoming addicted he added other sedatives to the mix.  Propofol alone is enough to cause respiratory arrest and adding other sedatives to it only exacerbates its danger.

I have been a Physician Assistant for the past twenty-five years and for the last twelve years I assisted cosmetic surgeons with liposuction in the Los Angeles area, including Beverly Hills.  This experience gives me some insight into the use of propofol.  Propofol is generic for Diprivan, which is primarily used by anesthesiologists to induce general anesthesia.  Some surgeons use it while doing liposuction and other cosmetic procedures because it wears off quickly and does not have the unpleasant side effects that other sedating medications do, (i.e. nausea, vomiting and a prolonged recovery).

On the downside propofol can cause severe respiratory depression.  However, when competent medical personnel administer it under the correct conditions it is quite safe.  No ethical doctor would ever consider using it as a sleep aid.  And certainly the FDA has not approved it for treating insomnia. Administering propofol must be done in the presence of a physician who is certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and preferably under the supervision of an anesthesiologist.

One would think that the drug overdose deaths of Heath Ledger, Anna Nicole Smith and Brittany Murphy would send a signal to the physicians of celebrities.  But it seems celebrities are given a pass and these doctors are so mesmerized that they “throw caution to the wind.”  They violate everything they learned in medical school, they throw out their Hippocratic oath and the requirement to “first do no harm.”

Even the people who surround these celebrities, their cooks, their housekeepers, and their personal assistants become subservient; to do otherwise would get them fired.  So the celebrities become the victims of their own success, no one is there to tell them “no,” no one is there to give them advice – especially something they don’t want to hear.  Close relatives are just lied to and kept at bay and those who persist are ostracized.

Dr. Conrad Murray

Kai Chase was hired as Jackson’s chef and spoke of Dr. Murray arriving daily at the mansion about 9 p.m. and not leaving until the next morning carrying oxygen tanks.  Apparently she would stay with Jackson all night in an effort to get him to sleep.  Occasionally Chase would cook for the doctor as well. One could assume the oxygen may have been used when Dr. Murray was administering propofol.  When someone goes into respiratory depression it is always helpful to have oxygen available. That being said any doctor giving propofol under those conditions is just plain crazy.

Jackson’s brother Tito was convinced that Michael became dependent on drugs.  Back in 1993 when the Neverland Ranch investigation was going on he said, “He deliberately did it away from us. He didn’t want his family to know anything about that part of him. He did almost everything in his power to make sure we didn’t know.”  Now apparently his sister La Toya believes Jackson was murdered for his money. But that is another story.

Kristine Foumier, Jackson’s former housekeeper knew of his dependence on drugs back in 1993 when he was being investigated for child molestation. She said the entire Neverland staff knew about it. “Yes, and people would say, his eyes were rolling in the back of his head and he wouldn’t know what he was talking about. I think he had good periods and bad periods and when he had a bad period he had a bad period. Then he would get off (get off the drugs) and then it would start again.”

Michael Jackson’s nurse Cherilyn Lee stated that he “begged” her to administer the drug several days before his death.  Jackson was so desperate to sleep he told Ms Lee, “Find me an anesthesiologist, I don’t care how much money they want, find me an anesthesiologist to be with me here overnight and give me this IV” (Intravenous Injection). Obviously even Jackson knew it required the presence of an anesthesiologist.  But Dr. Murray seems to have put his medical knowledge and his oath which includes “first do no harm” aside. He also violated the “standard of care.”

According to the Medical Board of California Dr. Conrad Robert Murray is licensed to practice medicine as a “Physician and Surgeon” his record of address is a post office box in Las Vegas.  In 1989 he graduated from Meharry Medical College School of Medicine. Meharry Medical College, located in Tennessee, is the largest independent, mostly black, private medical college in the country. His primary practice location is listed as the Las Vegas zip code 89119. Apparently he also has a clinic in Houston.  He has been licensed in Texas since 2005.  He may also be licensed in Arizona but I am unable to confirm it.  In both Texas and California there are no pending or past disciplinary actions against his license.

“Standard of care,” which is defined as what a reasonable person would do under similar circumstances.  Obviously Dr. Murray violated the standard care when he administered propofol in a non-clinical setting. “Failure to meet the standard is negligence, and any damages resulting there from may be claimed in a lawsuit by the injured party.” In this case the negligence led to someone’s death.

On 6 February TMZ reported that Dr. Murray visited Jackson’s tomb at Forest Lawn Memorial Park last Wednesday.  Was he paying his respects or simply searching for sympathy from the public?  Trying to make deals with Los Angeles prosecutors is no different.  He and his lawyers don’t want him seen being handcuffed and arrested.  But why shouldn’t he be?  Wouldn’t you or I have already been arrested and put in jail with no bail for killing someone by lethal injection?  I guess having a license to practice medicine gives one license to be immune from arrest.

Dr. Murray’s attorneys are hoping he will be charged with involuntary manslaughter and only serve two to four years and possibly lose his license to practice medicine. If that happens it would be just as bad as the O.J. Simpson trial.

Elizabeth Kelly, a Cleveland criminal attorney said, “If Dr. Murray were an ordinary doctor and Michael Jackson just an ordinary person, I doubt whether he (the Los Angeles DA) would have had such an interest in this case. But there was certainly public pressure.”   

I say that Dr. Murray is an ordinary doctor and if it were a John Doe that he killed by lethal injection he would already be in jail with no bail.

In my mind the case against Dr. Murray for medical malpractice, negligence, and manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson is sealed.  Guess they won’t be calling me as a juror.