SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, co-host:
But we are going to begin this half-hour with the latest on the trial of
Michael Jackson
's doctor. Attorneys for
Conrad Murray
are expected to begin making their case today. And
NBC
's
Jeff Rossen
is in
Los Angeles
again for us this morning.
Jeff
, good morning to you.
JEFF ROSSEN reporting:
Hey,
Savannah
, good morning to you. And just to give you an idea how different the theories are about how
Michael Jackson
died that day in
2009
inside his mansion, Dr.
Murray
says he gave
Michael Jackson
25 milligrams of propofol, this much, right up to here in a syringe about this size. But the prosecution's expert now says that's not true, he did the math, and Dr.
Murray
gave
Michael Jackson
40 times more than that, this much propofol, and you can see the difference in size. This morning we have exclusive new details how
Murray
's
defense
team will try to keep him out of jail. Dr.
Conrad Murray
has spent weeks listening to prosecutors blast him.
Unidentified Man:
That misplaced trust in the hands of
Conrad Murray
cost
Michael Jackson
his life.
ROSSEN:
Now, it's the doctor's turn. Sources close to the case tell
NBC News Murray
's lawyers have developed a new timeline and they'll lay it out for the jury this week.
One AM
,
Michael
arrives home from rehearsal, takes a shower and a
Valium
. Two
AM
, Dr.
Murray
gives
Michael
two milligrams of the anti-anxiety drug lorazepam. Three-fifteen
AM
,
Michael
falls asleep, but by
3:30 AM
, he's awake again. Five
AM
, Dr.
Murray
gives
Michael
another two milligrams of lorazepam, but the singer still can't sleep. Between 7 and
10 AM
,
Jackson
becomes agitated, panicked that if he can't sleep, they'll have to cancel that day's rehearsal, putting the entire show and his paycheck in jeopardy. It's in that window, 7 to
10 AM
, when
Murray
's lawyers will claim
Michael
enters his private bedroom, where no one is allowed, and swallows eight pills of lorazepam, never telling Dr.
Murray
. Ten-forty
AM
, Dr.
Murray
gives
Michael
23 milligrams of propofol, experts say a low dosage.
Eleven AM
,
Michael
is "sleeping comfortably" and Dr.
Murray
makes phone calls to his office and his girlfriends.
Murray
claims
Michael
then wakes up when he isn't looking and injects himself with more propofol. Eleven-fifty-eight
AM
, Dr.
Murray
notices
Michael Jackson
has stopped breathing.
Ms. ROBIN SAX (Former Prosecutor):
While it may seem that the
defense
has a tough road ahead of them, all they have to do is kick up enough sand and hopefully something sticks with some juror that creates
reasonable doubt
.
ROSSEN:
Murray
's
defense
team plans to call at least 15 witnesses and in court this week will argue what they told me at the start of the trial, that
Michael Jackson
essentially
killed himself
.
Mr. CHARLES UNGER (Conrad Murray's Defense Attorney):
This was a gentleman who just couldn't sleep at night, period.
ROSSEN:
And your contention is he would have done anything, including giving himself propofol and lorazepam to do it.
Mr. UNGER:
Oh, without a doubt. He would have done anything to get the sleep that he needed.
ROSSEN:
And we have another new development breaking overnight.
Janet Jackson
,
Michael
's sister, has canceled several concerts in
Australia this week
to be here at the
LA
courthouse with her family. In a statement released overnight,
Janet
says, "After talking with my family last night, I decided we
must be together right now." Savannah:
All right,
NBC
's
Jeff Rossen
in
Los Angeles
. Thank you.
Star Jones
is a veteran legal commentator and former prosecutor. Star, good morning to you.
GUTHRIE:
Good morning.
Ms. STAR JONES (Attorney and Former Prosecutor):
Well, let's start talking about this new
defense
theory...
GUTHRIE:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. JONES:
...that
Jeff Rossen
laid out, the timeline. And essentially what they're arguing is that
Michael Jackson
took it upon himself to walk into that private bedroom, take eight lorazepam unbeknownst to his doctor,
Conrad Murray
. We know that the
defense
does not have to prove a case beyond a
reasonable doubt
...
GUTHRIE:
Correct.
Ms. JONES:
...but don't they have to offer some evidence of this? I mean, they can't just make allegations and put no proof forward, right?
GUTHRIE:
Do -- can I remind you of -- with sitting here with me and hearing that in the
Casey Anthony
case that there was some sort of child molestation? They made allegations without any proof whatsoever. She's at home right now, OK? And that's the kind of thing that a jury will look to. If they don't want to, quote, "ruin this man's life,"
Conrad Murray
could get the benefit of beyond a
reasonable doubt
.
Ms. JONES:
At the same time, prosecutors very effectively have used
Conrad Murray
's own words...
GUTHRIE:
Absolutely.
Ms. JONES:
...the statement he gave to police, and prosecutors are making the argument that 'Even if you just take
Conrad Murray
at his word, we've established
gross negligence
.'
GUTHRIE:
Yes. If they're saying, the prosecution's saying, 'We don't believe anything that he says, and because of that he's guilty,' then they're also saying, 'If you believe everything that he says, because of that he's guilty.'
Ms. JONES:
This is a pretty steep hole that the
defense
now has to climb out of. They are going to put on their own expert, forensic expert...
GUTHRIE:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. JONES:
...to counter the experts we've heard now from the prosecution, most of whom seemed very effective in court. Is it possible that jurors just kind of throw their hands up and it's -- you -- we got dueling experts and they kind of cancel each other out?
GUTHRIE:
The battle of the experts often ends with the jury tossing out sort of the main central issue, which is the propofol. That's why Dr.
Steinberg
is going to become so, so important. He's the one who laid out the six elements that could make
gross negligence
in and of themselves, and of those six, five of them would find
Conrad Murray
guilty.
That's what
the prosecution is depending on. The
defense
very clearly just needs to do
reasonable doubt
when it comes to cause of death. That's where they're going.
Ms. JONES:
And to that end, I mean, the
defense
was actually severely limited by the judge before trial...
GUTHRIE:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. JONES:
...in terms of what it could put on for evidence of his former addiction and his financial pressures. At the same time, evidence has come in that
Michael Jackson
had some kind of addiction problem. Do you think jurors may find, you know, 'We -- we'll never know what really happened here,' and that that would be sufficient to have
reasonable doubt
? Maybe
Michael Jackson
did take these drugs himself.
GUTHRIE:
That is always enough to -- if the jury throws its hands up and say, 'I just don't know,' that's enough to find a defendant not guilty. The bigger problem, though, for the
defense
is their alternate theories that can get to guilt. If the jurors are arguing over one aspect, the prosecution has another card to play, and they've played them all. It's very skillful. There's a hole that they have to get out of.
Ms. JONES:
And you want to stand by your position, no way
Conrad Murray
takes the stand this week.
GUTHRIE:
