State Representative: Conrad Murray Should Not Be Released

A state representative in the California Attorney General’s office has asked the Los Angeles Court of Appeals to ignore Conrad Murray’s appeal request.

In 2009, Conrad Murray caused Michael Jackson’s death by administering an excessive dose of propofol, an anesthetic that should not be used at home. He left Michael alone while he was unconscious. When he returned and realized Michael had stopped breathing, he searched for someone who knew how to provide artificial respiration. Not only did he not know how to revive Michael, he also didn’t have the necessary medical equipment. Worse still, instead of immediately calling emergency services, he spent time collecting and destroying evidence of his crime. As a result of his actions, Michael Jackson—who was a healthy 50-year-old man and the father of three young children—died. Conrad Murray not only refuses to admit his repeated mistakes, but during the two years he has been in prison he has repeatedly complained about the smallness of his cell. He has also asked the appeals court for release, protesting the court ruling that sentenced him in November 2011 to four years in prison.

Last Monday, the state representative in the California Attorney General’s office ordered the Los Angeles Court of Appeals to reject the appeal request of this killer doctor. The representative said that the guilty verdict should never be overturned because the trial judge made no mistakes.

Ms. Victoria B. Willis wrote that in 2011, Murray’s lawyers missed the opportunity to file an appeal. She noted that the jury was presented with strong evidence proving Conrad Murray’s guilt, and based on that evidence they returned a guilty verdict.

In her ruling, Ms. Willis wrote: “The evidence shows that over the course of several months he was turning Mr. Jackson’s life into a roulette wheel.”

Murray’s appeal request had been referred to the appeals court in April by his lawyer, Valerie Wass. In her filing, the lawyer argued that the trial judge made an error and lost impartiality. She claimed that the trial judge erred by preventing details about Michael Jackson’s finances and his contract with AEG, and also by agreeing to broadcast the trial on television.

In her ruling, Willis supported the judge’s decisions and wrote that none of them were mistakes. Even if they had been, they would not change the correctness of Murray’s guilty verdict.

Willis did not stop there and pointed the finger at Murray:

“His appeal request is nothing but the mental ramblings of a criminal who has no sense of responsibility or remorse for taking a human life.”

Valerie Wass, however, says she disagrees with Ms. Willis. “She says some evidence was not discussed in court.

Ms. Willis has an answer to that claim. She said that Conrad Murray’s lawyers had access to all the case documents for months. They could decide whether to present certain evidence in court or not. Willis also said that discussing details of Michael Jackson’s finances would have been wrong and would have distracted the jury from the main issue.

“It was the jury’s job to decide whether Mr. Murray was guilty or not guilty—not Mr. Jackson’s financial statements.”

Source: eMJey.com / Billboard