Defense Expert in Conrad Murray Trial
In late October 2011, White testified as a defense expert in the trial that found Dr. Conrad Murray guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson. White testified that the models used by the prosecution’s expert, Dr. Steven Shafer, did not show how Jackson would have responded to the drug propofol. White was one of the first to test propofol, and his clinical trial led to approval of the drug by the Food and Drug Administration. White also stated that Murray’s treatment of Jackson with propofol was not inappropriate because off-label drug use by doctors is not uncommon or illegal.
In his second day on the stand, White testified that Jackson probably caused his death by injecting himself with propofol while Murray was not looking. White based his conclusion on the level of propofol in Jackson’s urine during the autopsy. White also testified that Jackson had taken several tablets of lorazepam, a sedative, which, in conjunction with the propofol, would have killed Jackson instantly.
On cross-examination, White conceded that Murray had violated the standard of medical care by administering propofol in a home setting.
At a hearing on November 16, 2011, Judge Michael Pastor found White in contempt for referring to his discussions with Murray during White's testimony, even though had been warned not to do so. He was fined $250.
Read more about this topic: Paul Frederick White
Famous quotes containing the words defense, expert, conrad, murray and/or trial:
“If violence is wrong in America, violence is wrong abroad. If it is wrong to be violent defending black women and black children and black babies and black men, then it is wrong for America to draft us, and make us violent abroad in defense of her. And if it is right for America to draft us, and teach us how to be violent in defense of her, then it is right for you and me to do whatever is necessary to defend our own people right here in this country.”
—Malcolm X (1925–1965)
“I’m an expert in hookers. I’m an expert in doormats. I’m an expert in victims. They were the best parts. And when I woke up—sociologically, politically, and creatively—I could no longer take those parts and look in the mirror.”
—Shirley MacLaine (b. 1934)
“His moving impulse is no flabby yearning to teach, to expound, to make simple; it is that “obscure inner necessity” of which Conrad tells us, the irresistible creative passion of a genuine artist, standing spell-bound before the impenetrable enigma that is life, enamoured by the strange beauty that plays over its sordidness, challenged to a wondering and half-terrified sort of representation of what passes understanding.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)
“Because you live, O Christ,
the spirit bird of hope is freed for flying,
our cages of despair no longer keep us closed and life-denying.
The stone has rolled away and death cannot imprison!
O sing this Easter Day, for Jesus Christ has risen!”
—Shirley Erena Murray (20th century)
“Going to trial with a lawyer who considers your whole life-style a Crime in Progress is not a happy prospect.”
—Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939)