Major MJ Trial Development: Conrad Murray's Defense Drops Crucial Claim
by Richard Sharp
In a shocking development which will likely have a major impact on the eventual verdict of the case, Dr. Conrad Murray's defense has dropped the claim that Michael Jackson self-administered propofol, the powerful surgical anesthetic which may have killed him.
This after the medical examiner who performed Jackson's autopsy told the jury Tuesday that it was unlikely the pop icon was capable of administering the drug himself in the brief period of time where Murray said he had left the room, an argument many observers have thought would be a key component to Dr. Murray's case.
"The circumstances, from my point of view, do not support self-administration of propofol," said Dr. Christopher Rogers, Chief of Forensic Medicine in the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office according to MSNBC.
In other damning testimony, the medical examiner said what medical professionals have long been saying to the media - that it would not be appropriate to use propofol outside a hospital or medical clinic.
During Tuesday's testimony, cardiologist Dr. Alon Steinberg also reiterated that propofol should not be ever administered without the proper monitoring and life-saving equipment used in hospitals.
With the weight of that evidence, and after a study the defense said it had conducted on the effects of potentially swallowing propofol (which it said would only produce "trivial results") the defense has opted to no longer argue or imply that Jackson was himself responsible for the lethal dosage of propofol.
"We are not going to assert at any time during this trial that Michael Jackson orally administered propofol," Murray's defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan said.
It will be interesting to see where the defense goes with such a pivotal point no longer in contention, but one area it will likely explore is the effect of lorazepam, a sedative also found in Jackson's system which he may have been able to ingest himself in pill form.