The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says Dr. Conrad Murray has not been placed on suicide watch, contrary to an earlier report from the Los Angeles Times.
Murray is being held in a cell in the medical services building where there is a higher ratio of guards to inmates for his safety, according to Deputy Jeff Cannon.
It is an area where they sometimes keep suicidal inmates, but authorities say Murray is not on suicide watch, Cannon said.
Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the Michael Jackson. His attorneys say they plan to appeal the verdict.
A stone-faced Murray appeared to show no emotion as the verdict was read, but someone in the gallery let out a loud, but short scream.
Murray faces a maximum of four years in prison on the conviction when he is sentenced on November 29. The minimum possible sentence is probation. Murray could also lose his medical license.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor ordered Murray to be held without bail until that date, and Murray was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.
“This is not a crime involving a mistake of judgment … This was a crime where the end result was the death of a human being,” Pastor said in explaining his decision to remand Murray to police custody.
“That factor demonstrates rather dramatically that the public should be protected.”
Legal experts say that, based on the judge’s decision to remand Murray into custody, they expect he will impose the maximum sentence. Due to overcrowding, however, it’s likely that Murray would only serve half of a four-year sentence, or about two years.
Murray served as Jackson’s personal physician as Jackson prepared for his comeback concerts, with Murray giving him the surgical anesthetic propofol to help him sleep nearly every night for the last two months of his life, according to testimony.
Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009, was caused by “acute propofol intoxication” in combination with two sedatives, the Los Angeles County coroner ruled.
Defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan reveals that he waited more than an hour Tuesday morning at the jail in an attempt to see Murray, but was told that the doctor was being held in the medical unit of the facility. After an excessive wait time, Flanagan left frustrated and without having seen his client.
