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Jackson doctor begins his defence

Defence lawyers for the doctor accused of killing Michael Jackson began their case, targeting the singer as the architect of his own demise by seeking to cure his insomnia with an intravenous drug, even when he was warned it was dangerous.

With the evidence of a doctor and a nurse practitioner, the lawyers showed that Jackson, 50, had been on his quest for at least 15 years, and in the months before he died he began asking for intravenous medication, specifically an anaesthetic.

Jackson would eventually get the drug propofol from Dr Conrad Murray, now on trial for involuntary manslaughter over the death of the superstar.

Taking over in the packed Los Angeles courtroom after prosecutors rested their four-week case, defence lawyers showed their hand at last, calling witnesses who indicated it was Jackson who demanded the drug that eventually killed him.

Dr Allan Metzger, Jackson's friend and confidant over two decades, said he refused the singer's request for an intravenous anaesthetic two months before his death and told the star it would be dangerous if administered in his home. Dr Metzger added that there was no amount of money that would have prompted him to give Jackson propofol.

Authorities say Murray gave Jackson a lethal dose of propofol as a sleep aid. Murray has pleaded not guilty.

Defence lawyers have said they will have 15 witnesses but have not publicly revealed whether they will call Murray to the stand. Prosecutors rested their case earlier in the day after evidence from 33 witnesses.

The defence then began its effort to counter damaging testimony that cast Murray as an opportunistic doctor who broke legal, ethical and professional guidelines to satisfy a patient who was paying him 150,000 dollars a month.

Source: music.uk.msn.com
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