Michael Jackson Doctor Pleads Not Guilty
LOS ANGELES (AP) Michael Jackson's doctor has pleaded not guilty and is ready to go to trial on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the superstar's death.
Dr. Conrad Murray entered the plea Tuesday at his arraignment in Los Angeles Superior Court, where he was previously ordered to stand trial after a preliminary hearing of prosecution evidence.Earlier, Murray's lawyers said he would not seek a plea bargain and that they had no qualms about going to trial in spite of strong prosecution evidence at a preliminary hearing aiming to prove that the doctor's gross negligence killed Jackson.
"We're going to go to trial," said defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan. "I think our case is really solid. We were very pleased with the way the evidence went at the preliminary hearing... This should result in an acquittal."
Others outside the case were not as confident of Murray's chances.
"If I were advising him, I would be talking to the district attorney to see what they would be willing to accept," said criminal defense attorney Steve Cron. He said that an offer of probation with community service and temporary suspension of Murray's medical license would be worth considering if it were proposed.
"I think there's a good chance he's going to go down on this," said Cron. "If they go to trial, they've got a lot of explaining to do."