Februrary 8, 2010 was the day Dr. Conrad Murray, a Houston cardiologist, was formally charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter in the case of the death of Michael Jackson.  The Huffington Post has the whole story, which I’ll summarize and editorialize below.

Basically, Murray was charged with manslaughter by the Los Angeles court system, to which he plead not guilty.  If convicted, he could serve four years in prison.   He was charged based on evidence the district attorney’s office presented that indicated Murray acted “without due caution and circumspection.”  Basically – he is charged with accidentally killing MJ by performing a medical procedure without the proper knowledge or training to do so.

Should he be charged?  Absolutely!  He had no idea what he was doing.  Anesthesiologists spend years learning to administer these drugs in controlled settings, with appropriate monitoring devices and support staff.  It cannot be done in the home, and it must not be done by those who have not undergone the proper training.  I wouldn’t go perform a heart catherization on somebody just because I could get a hold of the equipment.  Let Murray stick to cardiology, and the anesthesiologists will stick to anesthesia.

You can comment and blog all you want on Nancy Grace’s blog too.  Medical Barista’s own Double Shot has appeared on Nancy’s program several times regarding the Michael Jackson case.

Tags: anesthesia, celebrities, doctors in the public eye, Michael Jackson

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 3:59 pm and is filed under Entertainment, In the News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.