Michael Jackson Doctor's Max Sentence Halved By State Law

UPDATE: Conrad Murray's four-year sentence will automatically be reduced to two years under California law, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department tells a CBS affiliate.

Murray will, however, be required to serve the entire two years of his halved sentence, minus the 47 days he has already served. Murray will also serve his sentence in a county jail as opposed to the state prison sentence as result of the recent prison realignment law, known as AB109.

Tuesday, Nov. 29: A California judge on Tuesday sentenced Conrad Murray to four years behind bars for his role in the death of pop legend Michael Jackson.

Murray was found guilty earlier this month of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Jackson's overdose death. The prosecution had requested the maximum four year sentence, while the defense had argued for Murray to be put on probation.

"Dr. Murray created a set of circumstances and became involved in a cycle of horrible medicine," Judge Michael Pastor said. "The practice of propofol for medicine madness, which violated his sworn obligation, for money, fame prestige and whatever else may have occurred."

Murray will also be required to pay restitution to Jackson's estate and family, although the exact amount will be determined at a later restitution hearing.

Jackson's family did not speak at Tuesday's sentencing, but in a statement to the court read by their lawyer, they said that they lost their "father, best friend, and playmate" when the pop star died in 2009. They stressed they were not seeking "revenge" but nevertheless asked the judge to impose a stiff sentence.

Monday, Nov. 7: A Los Angeles jury on Monday found Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the pop superstar's 2009 death.

The jury returned the guilty verdict Monday shortly after 1 p.m. local time, finding Murray criminally negligent in his use of a powerful surgical anesthetic, propofol, to treat Jackson's insomnia and finding that it significantly contributed to his death.

Murray now faces a sentence ranging anywhere from probation to four years in state prison. He will be sentenced on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

The jury returned the guilty verdict after roughly ten hours of deliberations spread over two days. The trial included nearly six weeks of testimony, including from 33 witnesses called by the prosecution and 16 by the defense. More than 340 exhibits were available in the jury room as the panel mulled its verdict, USA Today reports.

CNN reports that one witness that never took the stand was Dr. Arnold Klein, who Murray's defense team argued got Jackson addicted to the painkiller Demerol in the final months of his life. Murray did not know about that addiction, according to his lawyers, who contend that it had fatal complications.

Klein's testimony was deemed irrelevant by the court since the painkiller was not found in Jackson's body by the coroner, who ruled that Jackson's death was the direct result of acute propofol intoxication in combination with two sedatives.

The prosecution, meanwhile, argued that Murray should have never used the hospital-grade drug in Jackson's home without the necessary monitoring and resuscitation equipment. They also said that Murry acted negligently in waiting 20 minutes before calling 911 and failing to tell the first responders that propofol had been administered to Jackson.

The scene outside the Los Angeles County courthouse was a chaotic one, and the Jackson supporters who had gathered nearby to learn Murray's fate could be heard within the chamber cheering the verdict shortly after it was handed down.

The Los Angeles Times reports that hordes of reporters were squeezed in among a crowd that had gathered to learn Murray's fate. In the hours before the verdict was read, police moved to split the crowed into their respective camps: Jackson fans and Murray supporters.