Prosecutor: Michael Jackson doc violated "sacred trust" between doctor and patient
(CBS/AP) LOS ANGELES - Closing arguments have begun Thursday in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor with a prosecutor telling jurors that there is overwhelming evidence to convict the singer's personal physician of involuntary manslaughter.
Pictures: Who's who in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray
Pictures: Michael Jackson's Doctor Trial
Video: Dr. Conrad Murray manslaughter trial begins
Deputy District Attorney David Walgren invoked Jackson's children early in his final statement, saying that the singer had them in mind in his final days and that was a driving force behind his planned series of comeback concerts.
Walgren said the case will never end for Jackson's three children and that fault lies with Dr. Conrad Murray. He said the Houston-based cardiologist caused Jackson's death and left the singer's children, Prince, Paris and Blanket, without a father.
Walgren urged jurors to convict Murray of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Jackson's death on June 25, 2009.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the evidence in this case is overwhelming," the prosecutor said after thanking jurors for their attentiveness.
"Michael Jackson trusted Conrad Murray," Walgren said. "He trusted him with his life."
Walgren says Murray violated the "sacred trust" between a doctor and a patient by giving Jackson doses of the anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid.
Murray has pleaded not guilty and faces up to four years behind bars and the loss of his medical license if he's convicted.Walgren has cast Murray as an inept, reckless physician who was distracted on the morning of Jackson's death.
Lead defense attorney Ed Chernoff is likely to argue that Jackson was responsible for his own death and took a fatal dose of propofol when Murray left the singer's bedroom.
Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor gave jurors instructions on how to view evidence in the case and reminded them before Walgren began speaking that closing arguments are not evidence in the case.
The seven-man, five-woman jury has listened appeared to listen closely throughout the six-week trial, which featured 49 witnesses and some complex medical testimony. They also heard several audio recordings, including one of Jackson himself in which his speech was slow and slurred, as well as Murray's lengthy interview with police detectives.
Complete coverage of the Conrad Murray - Michael Jackson case on CBS News
