| Michael Jackson's doctor pleads not guilty judge releases him on $75,000 bail |
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09/02/2010 16:45 (732 Day 23:49 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- Hours after Dr. Conrad Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Michael Jackson's 2009 death, the embattled physician pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon (February 8) during an arraignment hearing at a Los Angeles courthouse, according to The Associated Press.
Murray's bail was set at $75,000, three times greater than the bail usually set for such crimes. Without being handcuffed, Murray was then taken into custody for booking, according to MTV News. He must surrender his passport, allowing him to travel within the United States but not out of the country. Prosecutors had been seeking bail of $300,000, but Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz rejected that amount. The involuntary-manslaughter charge carries a maximum jail sentence of four years.
Speaking with reporters following the hearing, Ed Chernoff, Murray's lawyer, said his client would not be talking to press, the same source reports. "He's going to go home," Chernoff said. "He's going to go back to his family. He's going to go back to his patients."
Members of the Jackson family — including the singer's parents, Joe and Katherine, sister La Toya and brothers Jermaine, Tito and Randy — were present during the hearing. Afterward the family made its way through a throng of fans and reporters outside the courthouse without making a formal comment to the press. "We need justice," Joe announced at one point as he made his way to his vehicle, according to The New York Times.
On Monday night, Joe Jackson told CNN's Larry King that he doesn't believe Murray is the only person responsible for his son's death. "To me, he's just the fall guy. There's other people I think involved with this whole thing," Joe Jackson said, without elaborating, AP informs. Joe Jackson also told King his son believed his life was in danger. "Michael said it himself that he would be killed," Joe Jackson said. "He even told his kids that he would be murdered."
The same source informs that Murray was ordered to return April 5 to have another date set for his preliminary hearing. That proceeding, a virtual minitrial, will disclose the evidence prosecutors maintain will demonstrate Murray's "gross negligence."
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