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Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray will be heading to trial next month, and it looks like the speculation was correct: Murray's lawyers will argue that Jackson killed himself, according to People. Although Jackson's death has been ruled a homicide, Murray's defense team claims that Jackson may have "self-ingested" the drug that killed him while the doctor was out of the room.
Dr. Murray, who is being charged with involuntary manslaughter in the singer's death, was by Jackson's side when he died in 2009. He is accused of administering the pop star a fatal dose of propofol, a sedative normally used only in hospitals. (According to Murray, Jackson referred to the deadly drug as his "milk" and was using it to treat insomnia.)
It's unlikely that Jackson injected himself with the drug, but Murray's lawyers have found another possibility: He may have swallowed the entire bottle behind his doctor's back. Apparently there are traces of the drug in Jackson's digestive system, and the toxicology report doesn't rule out the possibility that Jackson drank the medicine.
However, even if Jackson did take the lethal dose himself, Dr. Murray could still be at fault. The prosecution will argue that it's a doctor's responsibility to create a "safe environment" for the patient, which means carefully monitoring his condition when he's on a lot of medications -- or, say, under a lot of stress from preparing for his comeback tour. The defense, in turn, will argue that Dr. Murray can't be held responsible for what Jackson did when he was allegedly out of the room.
The theory that Jackson swallowed an entire bottle of medicine spontaneously behind his doctor's back sounds a little suspicious to us -- and to Jackson's family.
"It's not possible that Michael would do that," said his father Joe Jackson. "The whole family knows -- and Michael's fans all over the world know -- that this is not true. It's a lie. We're outraged about it."
In our entirely biased opinion, Dr. Murray should be locked up for a long time or, at the very least, have his doctor's license permanently revoked. But we'll see what the jury has to say. The trial begins on March 24.
Do you think Dr. Conrad Murray is guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson's death? Chime in below!
