Dr. Conrad Murray

It's looking more and more like Dr. Conrad Murray's defense team is going to need a miracle to get their client off the hook in the death of Michael Jackson.

While Murray didn't mean to kill anyone, the charge is involuntary manslaughter, and expert after expert continues to make the case that he's responsible.

The prosecution's star witness said yesterday that Murray gave Jackson higher dosages of drugs than he told detectives, and that's not even the worst part.

Apparently, the anesthetic Propofol was still being fueled into Michael's veins as he passed. Jackson "died, but with the infusion running," Dr. Steven Shafer testified.

Throughout the day, Shafer - who previously listed 17 reasons Michael died as a result of Murray's care - used charts and demonstrations to emphasize his point.

In turn, he shredded Murray's medical care and the implausibility of defense suggestions that MJ gave himself an overdose of propofol or the sedative Lorazepam.

Instead, Shafer says Murray took his eyes off Jackson more than long enough to miss seeing Jackson's lungs become depleted and his heart stop beating.

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The case against him was looking strong anyway, but prosecution's main expert against Dr. Conrad Murray shredded the physician on the stand yesterday.

Dr. Steven Schafer called Murray's treatment of Michael Jackson "egregious," "difficult to comprehend," and "inexcusable," among other descriptive terms.

In fact, Schafer testified to 17 different "unconscionable" ways Dr. Conrad Murray's treatment could have contributed to the death of the music legend.

Schafer, an anesthesiologist who wrote the packaging insert for Propofol - the main drug blamed in the singer's death - was damning in his testimony.

He said Murray behaved more like an employee who was following orders than a doctor whose priority was his patient's health, and has no excuses.

Schafer said things Murray did on and before June 25, 2009, are things that every doctor knows not to do – and many led to Michael Jackson's death.

Among his claims faulting Jackson's doctor:

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Deputy D.A. David Walgren met with Michael Jackson's son Prince to discuss the possibility of the King of Pop's eldest child testifying against Dr. Conrad Murray.

The meeting was held at Katherine Jackson's gated Calabasas, Calif., residence. Katherine, Michael's mother, wants to ensure Prince's protection in all of this.

"Even though she is steadfastly against Prince testifying, she recognizes this is something he feels he must do if asked," says a source close to the family.

Prince Michael with sister Paris Jackson in Wales October 8.

"Prince has information that's clearly relevant to the proceedings. Make no mistake, Prince would have been called as a witness already if he was an adult."

The D.A. is about to rest without having called Prince Michael Jackson, but the option is on the table to call him as a rebuttal witness after Murray's defense.

That decision will be made by the D.A. after hearing the defense case.

"Prince does have information that would be helpful for the jury to hear. However, it's a double-edged sword of putting a child on the stand," says the insider.

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Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial in connection with Michael Jackson's 2009 death will resume on Wednesday after a series of delays.

Los Angeles Judge Michael Pastor made the announcement Monday morning at a hearing attended by lawyers for both sides; the jury wasn't present.

Today's session was canceled after the father of the prosecution's final witness died, but Judge Pastor ordered the delay of one more day additionally.

Murray's defense team will be able to gather more details from the L.A. County Coroner's Office test results of Lorazepam levels in Michael Jackson's body.

His lawyers may be readying to mount a defense on the theory that Lorazepam killed MJ, and that acute Propofol intoxication was NOT a cause of death.

Says a source close to the case:

"This case isn't about Propofol, Michael Jackson didn't die from that. He died because of an extremely high level of Lorazepam found in his body."

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Perhaps it's a little too early to start talking about what happens if Dr. Conrad Murray gets convicted of felony involuntary manslaughter - he has yet to present his defense - but it does not look good for the physician right now.

Between the Michael Jackson autopsy photo, the 911 call and most of all, the various holes in his defense, he'll have to pull off a miracle to be acquitted.

So what happens when and if he gets convicted?

As for how much time Murray would serve, officials tell TMZ that Murray would be jailed for half the actual sentence. So four years as opposed to two.

Moreover, because of severe overcrowding, inmates are eligible for house arrest, based on their prior criminal history, and their risk to the community.

Murray has a clean record and, as one law enforcement official put it, "it's not like he's going to walk around with a bottle of Propofol and kill people."

So if the jail is filled to the max, the Sheriff could quickly put him on house arrest - if not right away, shortly into his sentence - ankle monitor style.

Again, this is all premature. The jury could still find him not guilty on all counts. But right now, we could bet heavily against that possibility occurring.

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Dr. Conrad Murray's attorneys are trying to change defendant's defense in his involuntary manslaughter trial, telling jurors Michael Jackson had much more than two minutes alone self-administer a fatal dose of Propofol June 25, 2009.

By claiming this, they are contradicting Murray's own statement.

Murray's attorney J. Michael Flanagan suggested that the two-minute window Murray said he left the star alone for that morning wasn't accurate after all.

Prosecutors have lambasted the idea that MJ could have woken up, grabbed a bottle of Propofol and injected it into the port in his leg in just two minutes.

Interestingly, by suggesting it was a longer window of time, Flanagan is basically saying Murray lied to police ... but Flanagan's version is likely correct.

In the hour before Murray began resuscitating Jackson, he was on the phone for around 45 minutes, according to police and the many women he called.

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Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyer announced that the physician is dropping the argument that Michael Jackson accidentally killed himself by ingesting Propofol orally.

What they're not doing is dropping the argument that he self-administered the anesthetic in general. In fact, the defense still will claim that MJ killed himself.

Murray's attorneys say they have concluded Jackson could not have chugged Propofol, however, and will now argue only that he injected it intravenously.

According to TMZ, attorney Michael Flanagan said in court today that a new study by the defense showed swallowing Propofol would not produce fatal results.

The Associated Press initially reported that Murray's lawyers ditched the idea that MJ self-administered the fatal dose in any way, but that is not accurate.

Lead lawyer Ed Chernoff can and very likely will argue that MJ injected a fatal dose after awakening and becoming frustrated with Murray out of the room.

Of course, that's still a claim they may struggle to sell a jury on, and medical experts say that even if it happened, Murray would be responsible regardless.

Not looking good for the doc so far, but his defense has yet to present its case. They're going to need to pull a legal rabbit out of their hat on this one.

Your take: Dr. Conrad Murray ...

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A leading cardiologist for the California Medical Board told a jury today that Dr. Conrad Murray was grossly negligent in his treatment of Michael Jackson.

Dr. Alon Steinberg testified that Murray, who's facing involuntary manslaughter charges in the June 2009 death of the pop icon, demonstrated an "extreme deviation" from standard practices in the medical care he provided.

That, more than anything else, could lead to Murray's conviction.

The Michael Jackson autopsy photo displayed in court Tuesday and Murray's recording of the delirious star are chilling, but don't necessarily prove his guilt.

Steinberg's testimony is a different ballgame. We're not on the jury, but it's hard to imagine they won't be influenced by some of this expert's views.

He reviewed Murray's case relying solely on transcripts from his police interview because he wanted "to judge Dr. Murray on his very own words."

Dr. Steinberg made it clear that he is a cardiologist, not an anesthesiologist. That said, these are a few of his observations of Murray's medical care:

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In their most striking piece of evidence yet, prosecutors showed jurors today an autopsy photo of Michael Jackson, dead and naked, his body lying on gurney.

The photo, admitted in Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial, was taken hours after the star died. MJ's death, as we know, was ruled a homicide.

The date on the tiles beside his body reads August 25, 2009. However, Dr. Christopher Rogers claimed the date was a simple error, and should read June 25.

This was shown during opening statements. Today's image is far more graphic.

Rogers said it is extremely unlikely Michael Jackson killed himself with a deadly dose of Propofol, as Murray claimed in his opening statement two weeks ago.

Jackson's fingerprints were not found on the medication, but more importantly, says the doctor who did the autopsy, Murray's defense theory is very unlikely.

Follow the jump for the Michael Jackson autopsy photo ...

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In an interview just after Michael Jackson died, Dr. Conrad Murray told police he had no clue what medications the star had been prescribed by other physicians.

Murray also says Jackson never told him he was seeing other doctors - a clue as to how he may present a defense at his ongoing involuntary manslaughter trial.

Two days after Jackson's death, Murray cited Dr. Arnold Klein, a longtime friend of Michael, as a doctor who regularly prescribed MJ drugs behind Murray's back.

Murray, by his own admission, knew this was going on. But to what degree?

According to Murray, MJ's production team complained about the singer's visits to Klein - insisting Michael's worst days on set were after he had seen Klein.

Those worst days, Dr. Conrad Murray claims, were three times a week.

During the taped interview, Murray told police, "When [he] came back [from Klein's office], he was basically wasted and required 24 hours for recovery."

Murray also claims he saw evidence of doctor-shopping by Jackson - a smattering of prescription pill bottles by his bedside, bearing other doctors' names.

Michael never spoke about it, Murray says. Whether that matters to a jury is unclear, but Murray is trying to say he didn't know how bad MJ's condition was.

Judge Michael Pastor has already ruled that Klein cannot testify.

[Photo: WENN.com]