Conrad Murray Sings, Maintains Innocence In First Interview Since Conviction In Michael Jackson's Death
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) —Conrad Murray Tuesday continued to maintain his innocence in connection to Michael Jackson's death in an exclusive phone interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper.
The former doctor, who has been behind bars for 16 months so far in a four-year sentence, spoke out for the first time on AC 360 since he was convicted in Nov. 2011 of involuntary manslaughter.
Murray told Cooper he regrets not taking the stand in his defense.
"If I had to do it again, that's the one thing I would never do. I would never sit quietly in the courtroom and have a District Attorney tear open and destroy the integrity of the evidence," he said.
Murray and his attorney claim they have proof for his appeal, which was filed Monday, that Jackson wasn't on a propofol drip the day he died.
Although Murray was stripped of his medical license, he said he hopes to practice again once he's out of jail.
"Given another chance, I will do my utmost to set this aside and get back on the track where I can continue to help," he told Cooper.
Ultimately, Murray claimed he wasn't just Jackson's personal physician, he was his friend.
"I did everything when I discovered him in his condition to try to help him," he said.
In a bizarre stunt, Murray also sang Nat King Cole's "The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot" to a stunned Cooper.
Meantime, jury selection began Tuesday in the trial of Katherine Jackson's $40 billion lawsuit against AEG.
The case centers on the matriarch's allegations that AEG Live failed to properly investigate Murray.
Murray said he doesn't plan on testifying in that trial for fear of jeopardizing his own case.
