Prosecutors Will Watch This Is It

The prosecution team is expected to sit down alongside Conrad Murray’s lawyers to watch previously unseen footage from Michael Jackson’s rehearsals for the This Is It tour.

The prosecutor’s office wants to use this footage to prove Michael Jackson’s condition at the time of his death, while the lawyers for the defendant accused of involuntary manslaughter intend to use the same film to show his physical weakness and illness.

Earlier, Murray’s lawyers had requested access to previously unseen Michael footage. With Sony’s agreement, it was decided that private screenings of these videos would take place in a secure and reliable location. A story from the judge asks that they be allowed to sit in alongside the lawyers to watch these films as well.

Nargis Gurgijian, one of Murray’s lawyers—who served on his legal team in 2005 before Michael dismissed her—opposed the prosecution’s request, explaining that the screening of the videos was originally requested by the lawyers, and the prosecution should file a separate request. However, David Walgren from the prosecution team said that filing a separate request would be nothing but a waste of court time and pointless.

The judge agreed with the prosecution, and therefore the lawyers and the prosecution team will, together, watch This Is It exclusively starting Tuesday at one of Sony’s company studios. They will have to watch 21 boxes full of film—said to contain 100 hours of Michael’s previously unseen rehearsal footage.

This Is It was the title of a tour that was planned to take place over 50 nights in London. Tickets for the tour sold out within a few hours, setting a record for the fastest-selling tour in the world. After Michael’s death on June 25, 2009, his rehearsals—over the two nights before his death—were released as a documentary film with the same name as the tour. This Is It is the best-selling musical documentary film in the world.

Conrad Murray is accused of causing Michael Jackson’s death on the morning of June 25 by involuntarily killing him through an excessive dose of the anesthetic propofol. The trial for this case is set to begin three months from now.

Source: eMJey.com / ninemsn.com.au