Manslaughter?
We’ve all heard the possibility of Michael Jackson’s doctors being charged with manslaughter. Their medical involvement with the performer puts them at that risk. But what exactly does the charge of manslaughter mean? MTV tackles the topic in this report.
If the Jackson case officially turns into a manslaughter probe — no charges have been filed yet, and police and the coroner’s office are still conducting investigations — prosecutors would have to provide clear evidence that his doctor, or other health-care providers, acted in a reckless or negligent manner, thereby causing the 50-year-old pop icon’s death on June 25.
“Any time you do any lawful act, like the administration of drugs, if you do it in a way that’s reckless or indifferent to its consequences, you can be charged with manslaughter,” said Los Angeles attorney Harland Braun, who is not connected to the Jackson case, but is best known for successfully defending filmmaker John Landis in 1984 against manslaughter charges connected to three stunt-related deaths on the set of “The Twilight Zone” movie. “It’s just like if you’re driving recklessly down the street without regard to people’s safety. It has to be recklessness more than negligence … knowing the danger and acting despite that danger.”
Unlike a murder charge, manslaughter does not require proof of an intent to kill. In Jackson’s case, prosecutors would be looking at whether Murray or another health-care provider took an unnecessary risk by injecting the singer with drugs or providing him with dangerous medication. Read on…