If Dr. Conrad Murray caused Michael Jackson’s death, then so did I…
February 13, 2010 by Staff
Filed under Entertainment, News, Weekly Columns
(Akiit.com) If Dr. Conrad Murray is guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson, well then so am I and about half of America.
For the record, I’m not currently on any prescribed medications. Nor am I one of the eccentric Jackson fans still living in Neverland and disbelief on exactly who Michael Jackson was. And for the sake of clarity, he was a gifted and talented man who had a penchant for young boys and controlled substances–and what Michael wanted, he often got. Case in point, let’s just say he finally got the sleep he was looking for. Too bad he’ll never awaken to tell us how it was to finally go to sleep.
Now onto Dr. Conrad Murray and this charge of involuntary manslaughter for his use of the operating-room anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid for Jackson–at the deceased’s request.
Michael Jackson was a grown man capable of making grown decisions on his own. He knew exactly what he was doing when he directed his doctor to give him propofol.
Look–I know smoking is bad for my health and will eventually lead to cancer and more than likely my death. I know it, the execs at Lorillard Tobacco Company of Greensboro, North Carolina know it, and the clerk at the gas station who sells them to me knows it too. Like Michael Jackson, I am grown and I know with every inhale and exhale exactly what I am putting into my body and the danger it causes. Am I trying to kill myself? No, just like I don’t believe that the suits over at Lorillard Tobacco Company or the businesses that sell cigarettes are trying to kill me. Like Dr. Conrad Murray–they’re in it for the money. So if I die, well then that’s on me. I knew the risks from the first puff.
My decision to smoke is no different from morbidly obese adults who still insist upon eating fast food and refuse to do anything to get down to a healthy weight. When they roll over and die from that Big Mac, large fries, and Coke, whose fault is it, McDonald’s or their own? What about lawmakers whose indecisiveness and partisan bickering over healthcare reform indirectly contribute to preventable deaths because universal or even affordable healthcare wasn’t an option? Are prosecutors going to charge politicians with involuntary manslaughter?
If Dr. Conrad Murray is guilty of anything, it’s ambition, greed, and stupidity. Being the personal doctor of the world’s most famous pop singer isn’t a bad gig if you can get it, nor is the dough associated with it. Now was it worth it? Probably not, but that’s a question only Dr. Murray can answer. As for the stupidity aspect of the whole thing, I truly believe the ambition and greed contributed greatly to it.
Still not convinced Dr. Murray should go free? Consider this.
My grandmother is a diabetic who the doctor told in no uncertain words that if she didn’t leave the salt and the sweets alone, she was going to lose a leg, maybe two, and more than likely die. So when I take her out to eat at Sizzler’s where she piles fried chicken legs onto her plate which eventually lead to her demise, according to L.A. Prosecutor’s reasoning, I should be guilty of involuntary manslaughter as well. I knew she was a diabetic. I knew what the doctor said was going to be the outcome if she ate specific foods. I took her to Sizzler’s and I paid for the bill. There you have it. I am guilty.
It’s obvious I love my grandmother, so there’s no malice or intent, not that prosecutors have to prove it anyway for an involuntary manslaughter charge. But if my grandmother should die and the cause was proven to be what she ate well that qualifies as a lawful act performed “without due caution and circumspection.” Lock me up cause’ I’m guilty as charged. And like Dr. Murray who had Jackson’s permission, I had my grandmother’s permission to take her to Sizzler, in fact she specifically asked me to take her to Sizzlers so she could eat those fried chicken legs. Although unlike Dr. Murray, my grandmother wasn’t paying me, but in my defense, she sure does know how to lay the guilt on me when I don’t do what she asks.
If L.A. prosecutors want to charge someone with involuntary manslaughter, they can start with parents who smoked around their children that eventually led to their children being diagnosed with cancer and dying. And if the children didn’t die but contracted asthma or some other form of illness, charge them anyway.
Another good start would be admitting that overweight and obese children whose parents do nothing about their children’s weight and continue to feed their children fast food and sweets are the victims of child abuse therefore holding the parents accountable in a criminal court of law. You see, I believe that unlike Michael Jackson who was grown, children are not adults responsible for their own behavior.
Perhaps even more puzzling in the drama known as the death of Michael Jackson, is that while prosecutors in Chicago couldn’t manage to charge a certain other pop singer with rape or even the possession of child pornography even with video of the crime, here in L.A., our prosecutors found the time to pull a rabbit out of hat under the guise of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a grown man who had a penchant for young boys and controlled substances.
Until we’re ready as a society to reexamine what constitutes a criminal offense, including the offenses I cited earlier, anyone looking to blame someone for Michael Jackson’s death should start here… 1712 South Glendale Avenue otherwise known as Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
Yeah, I know Michael Jackson’s music was loved, as with that other singer from Chicago, I was a fan too before I found out the truth. But let’s not get crazy here. It’s not like he was cranking out the hits before he died and blaming Dr. Conrad Murray for his death isn’t going to bring Michael back–not that he was “here” technically when he was alive. And if you charge Dr. Murray, why not charge everyone else who technically aided and abetted in the committing of said crime by knowing what was transpiring between Jackson and his doctor and doing nothing about it?
Bottom line–if Dr. Conrad Murray is guilty of involuntary manslaughter I guess the only thing left for me to say is, where is my “Free Dr. Conrad Murray” t-shirt?
Written By Jasmyne Cannick