Dr. Conrad Murray wants the judge in his criminal manslaughter case to deny Michael Jackson’s family restitution, arguing that MJ was responsible for his demise.
Murray was convicted and sentenced for involuntary manslaughter already. That is set in stone. However, he is still fighting the restitution the star’s family seeks.
Murray is asking for evidence the defense never received during the trial – evidence he claims could show Michael self-administered the fatal dose of Propofol.
Murray’s lawyer, J. Michael Flanagan, argues that – guilty verdict aside – in deciding how much restitution the family gets, the victim’s responsibility matters.
So Murray will concede he’s partly to blame (he can’t argue otherwise because of the conviction) but he still wants to prove that Jackson caused his own death.
The prosecution is asking for around $100 million in restitution, but the judge hasn’t decided on a figure. The level of culpability will ultimately play into that.
Once the figure is set, if Flanagan gets his way and the judge were to decide MJ was 50 percent responsible, the judge would reduce restitution by 50 percent.
Also complicating matters? Murray is pretty much broke, and if anything, Jackson’s family has profited from his death. So … the judge has a lot to ponder.