Sgt. on trial for alleged sport killings

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, seen here in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, in 2010, now faces murder charges.A court martial began Friday for Staff Sgt. Calvin GibbsHe is the highest ranking soldier charged in connection with alleged "kill squad"Prosecutors allege Gibbs and other soldiers targeted Afghan civiliansGibbs has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including murder

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington (CNN) -- It didn't take long for Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs to make an impression on his soldiers.

Gibbs, the new leader of 3rd Platoon, part of the Army's 5th Stryker Brigade, had served a previous tour in Iraq and another in Afghanistan, and at 6 feet 4 inches and 220 pounds, towered over most of the platoon members.

Gibbs took over the platoon, stationed in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, in November, 2009. It was a low point for the group: A massive roadside bomb had injured their previous leader and left the team rattled. Gibbs wasn't rattled though.

And, as several of his fellow soldiers would later testify, Gibbs promised his men they would have a chance to exact revenge on the "savages," referring to the Afghan civilian population they were meant to protect.

Nearly two years later, Gibbs, 26, faces a military court martial on Friday for numerous charges, including the murder of three Afghan civilians.

He is the highest ranking soldier charged in what prosecutors say was a rogue "kill squad" that allegedly targeted Afghan civilians and made the deaths look like casualties of Taliban counterattacks.

He has also been charged with removing body parts from his alleged victims, such as teeth and fingers, to keep as souvenirs; planting "drop weapons" to fake attacks on soldiers; and intimidating several of his own unit members from speaking out against the unit's alleged murder plots and rampant drug use.

This photo from the U.S. Army shows Sgt. Calvin Gibbs' tattoos that are suspected to represent his "kills."

After his May 2010 arrest in Afghanistan, Gibbs showed investigators a tattoo on his lower left leg depicting crossed pistols and five skulls. He told investigators the skulls were a way to keep track of his kills in both Iraq and Afghanistan, according to investigative interview notes shown to CNN.

Gibbs has pleaded not guilty. His attorney Phillip Stackhouse did not respond to CNN's requests for comment. Stackhouse said in a preliminary hearing this summer that Gibbs acted lawfully and that other soldiers who have testified against him were unreliable witnesses.

Gibbs, a Billings, Montana, native who is married with a young son, faces life in a military prison. His trial is expected to last a week.

Twelve soldiers from the Army's 5th Stryker Brigade have been charged in the case, including five with murder. Three of the soldiers charged with murder -- Spc. Adam Winfield, Pvt. Jeremy Morlock, and Pfc. Andrew Holmes -- have pleaded guilty in exchange for their testimony. Spc. Michael Wagnon has pleaded not guilty to a single charge of murder, and awaits court martial.

Several of the soldiers charged in the case documented the alleged murders through unsanctioned photographs of the bodies. In one of the photos, soldiers hold up a dead man's head and pose alongside the corpse, like a hunting trophy.

In March, these photos were obtained and published by German publication Der Spiegel and Rolling Stone magazine, generating comparisons to the Abu Ghraib scandal, and causing the Army to issue an apology.

Prosecutors have portrayed Gibbs as the kill squad's alleged ringleader. But according to testimony in the court martials of other soldiers, he didn't have to push many of the soldiers very hard to take part in the killings which he referred to as "scenarios."

"It wasn't a completely new conversation," Pvt. Jeremy Morlock testified during a July hearing. "It wasn't far-fetched. Rolling around our minds I guess."

Getting away with murder

Gibbs openly discussed how easy it would be to kill Afghan civilians and then make them appear as if they were insurgents, other soldiers have testified. They said they thought Gibbs was joking.

Pvt. Jeremy Morlock, left, and Pfc. Andrew Holmes, right, have both pleaded guilty to murder charges.

Morlock said the alleged "kill squad" soldiers carried out the executions spur of the moment.

"There was never anything planned," he testified. "Like this date or this time. We found an opportunity."

Video: Morlock details killing to investigator

The first "opportunity," Morlock testified, came in January 2010 during a patrol of a village called La Mohammad Kalay. Morlock told investigators that he and another soldier, Pfc. Andrew Holmes, spotted a teenage farmer named Gul Mudin alone in a field. They beckoned him closer.

"I could see his hands were empty," Holmes testified. "He didn't have a weapon."

Morlock testified he then threw a grenade and ordered Holmes to open fire. The blast ripped the man apart. Morlock testified that the grenade was "off the books" -- one that couldn't be traced back to him. It was, he said, given to him by Sgt. Gibbs.

As Mudin lay dying, Morlock and Holmes later testified, they told fellow soldiers the Afghan farmer had tried to attack them with the grenade. Against military regulations, the men posed for photographs with their "kill."

Both Morlock and Holmes pleaded guilty as part of separate plea deals with prosecutors. Morlock is serving a 24-year sentence for killing Mudin, and two other unarmed Afghan men, and Holmes was sentenced to seven years in military prison.

Holmes' mother: Where was the Army?

Morlock testified that he boasted about the shooting. Soon, word spread about the alleged "kill squad" among their fellow soldiers on base and even among some family members back home.

"People in my platoon ... can get away with murder," Spc. Adam Winfield wrote his father on Facebook on February 14, 2010. "Everyone pretty much knows it was staged."

Chris Winfield was stunned when he read his son's message. He tried to report his son's account and even, he said, called Joint Base Lewis-McChord where the division is based.

He said his warnings were not heeded.

Adam Winfield testified that he later told his father that he was afraid for his own life and not to seek any more scrutiny for the unit's alleged activities.

'They were not posing any threat to us'

In February 2010, the squad went on a mission to a village called Kari Kheyl. There, Gibbs, Morlock and Spc. Michael Wagnon entered the hut of man a named Marach Agha. They ordered Agha outside and then, according to Morlock, Gibbs turned to the other two soldiers.

"'Were we okay to go ahead and shoot this guy?'" Gibbs asked the soldiers, according to Morlock's testimony. "We said 'yeah.'"

Spc. Adam Winfield testified he was afraid of Sgt. Gibbs and his easy talk of covering up murders in a war zone.

Gibbs first fired a contraband AK-47 into a wall, Morlock said, to simulate enemy fire. Then with his M4 rifle, Gibbs shot Agha, Morlock testified. Morlock said he and Wagnon also fired rounds to make it appear as if the soldiers had been attacked first.

Wagnon is charged with Agha's killing and has pleaded not guilty.

In March 2010, while on patrol, Gibbs spotted two Afghan men who he said were carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. But what the men held was actually a shovel, Staff Sgt. Robert G. Stevens, a medic who was also on the patrol, later testified.

"They were not posing any threat to us," Stevens said. Gibbs ordered the soldiers to shoot them, according to Stevens. The medic told the court he intentionally shot 75 yards away from the Afghans, who fled.

"Sgt. Gibbs said we needed to work on our accuracy," Stevens testified, "Because it did not appear that we hit anyone."

As part of a plea deal, Stevens was sentenced to nine months in prison for that incident and for faking an insurgent attack on a nighttime Army vehicle convoy with a grenade.

After he threw the grenade, Stevens testified, soldiers in the convoy fired at nearby Afghan huts. Stevens said he did not believe any Afghans were hit. None of the soldiers in the convoy were injured by explosion.

Combat decorations awarded to the soldiers were later rescinded after investigators discovered Stevens had thrown the grenade.

Stevens testified that Sgt. Gibbs gave him the grenade hidden in a sock. Also in the sock, Stevens testified, was a human finger.

In May 2010, Gibbs, Morlock and Winfield were among soldiers on a patrol in a village called Qualaday. In the three months since writing his father on Facebook, Winfield had shifted from wanting to expose Gibbs to trying to get into the sergeant's good graces.

Winfield was afraid of his sergeant, he would later testify, and his easy talk of covering up murders in a war zone.

In Qualaday, Winfield testified, the three men singled out a man named Mullah Allah Dad, the local cleric, and led him away from the compound where he lived with his wife and children. Winfield said Gibbs ordered the man to kneel in a ditch.

"I had an idea that Sgt. Gibbs was looking for a kill," Winfield told the court. Then, with Winfield and Morlock shielded behind a low wall, Winfield said Gibbs threw a grenade at Allah Dad. The explosion, he said, ripped the cleric apart.

Morlock and Winfield next opened fire to simulate a firefight and then the soldiers planted a grenade near the man, Winfield testified.

Depressed over his role in the incident, Winfield said he grew afraid that Gibbs might want to silence him. While walking across base to talk with a chaplain, Winfield said Gibbs suddenly intercepted him.

"Sgt. Gibbs reminded me I shouldn't be talking about things I shouldn't be talking about," Winfield testified.

Winfield said Gibbs warned him that he could kill Winfield and make it look like an accident.

Meanwhile Gibbs' behavior was becoming more outlandish, other soldiers said. According to the soldiers who testified at preliminary hearings in Gibbs' case, he showed off fingers and teeth he had removed from corpses and discussed throwing candy onto roads.

The sweets would draw children who they could then run over, he allegedly theorized.

'Kill squad' unravels

The unraveling of the alleged "kill squad" came about not from targeting Afghans but after prosecutors said Gibbs organized an attack on a fellow soldier.

Three days after prosecutors say Gibbs killed Mullah Allah Dad, he and six other soldiers confronted Pfc. Justin Stoner. The soldiers were furious at Stoner for ratting them out for abusing drugs.

According to prosecutors, several of the soldiers used Stoner's room to smoke hashish they bought from Afghan translators. Stoner, according to prosecutors, was afraid he would shoulder all the blame for the drug abuse and complained to superiors

The soldiers began to beat Stoner, prosecutors charged. After the alleged stomp down, according to prosecutors, Gibbs showed Stoner fingers he allegedly cut off the corpses of dead Afghan men

The alleged threat backfired though and Stoner soon was talking about the drug abuse, the beating and killings of civilians to investigators.

Gibbs was arrested in May 2010 in Afghanistan and on Friday, he faces those charges in a military courtroom some 7,000 miles away from the Afghan villages he is accused of terrorizing.

Even though none of the soldiers' officers have been charged for participating in or knowing about the alleged kill squad, they bear some responsibility for the unit's actions, Stjepan Mestrovic, a sociology professor at Texas A&M University told CNN in an interview..

The distinction between an enemy and a civilian broke down. They saw everyone out there as an enemy.
Stjepan Mestrovic, sociology professor and defense witness

"There was a focus on body counts and aggression throughout the brigade," said Mestrovic who testified for Morlock's defense and was permitted to review documents in the case including a sealed report on what the brigade leadership knew.

Mestrovic described a "dysfunctional command climate" where officers disregarded the military's declared counterinsurgency mission of engaging and winning support with the local population.

"In this climate there was a 'kill board,'" Mestrovic said, describing the way in which units were ranked for how many Taliban they had killed. "They had a brigade commander who wanted a high body count, who was constantly preaching to search out and kill the enemy rather than what they mockingly called 'go and have tea with the village elders.' "

But prior to Gibbs' arrival, the unit hadn't had any kills, Mestrovic said, and was being pushed to be more aggressive with an enemy that preferred to ambush rather than directly engage them.

The soldiers' frustration and boredom became a toxic mix, Jeremy Morlock testified. "We lost fellow soldiers to IEDs and lived in fear of being killed by them on a daily basis. ... I just wanted to survive and come home in one piece," Morlock told the court. "I realize now I wasn't fully prepared for the reality of war as it was being fought in Afghanistan."

"Soldiers were basically left on their own," Mestrovic said. "The distinction between an enemy and a civilian broke down. They saw everyone out there as an enemy."

View the original article here

Final experts spar in Murray trial

Testimony in the Conrad Murray manslaughter trial may conclude Friday or Monday as the defense is expected to call its last two witnesses to the stand.The science showdown between anesthesiologists takes center stage for the trial's conclusionTwo medical experts are the last defense witnesses Five character witnesses testify Dr. Conrad Murray saved their livesJury deliberations in Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial could begin early next weekTune in to HLN for full coverage and analysis of the Conrad Murray trial and watch live, as it happens, on CNN.com/Live and CNN's mobile apps.
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyers hope their last two witnesses will convince jurors in his involuntary manslaughter trial that Michael Jackson gave himself the overdose of drugs that killed him.
After five Murray heart patients testified Wednesday that he was a good and caring doctor who has saved their lives, two medical experts remain on the defense witness list. Testimony could conclude by Friday or Monday in the trial that started a month ago.
The Los Angeles County coroner ruled Jackson's June 25, 2009 death was the result of "acute propofol intoxication" in combination with several sedatives.
The defense theory is that a desperate Jackson, fearing his comeback concerts could be canceled unless he found elusive sleep, self-administered propofol that Murray was trying to wean him off of.
Prosecutors contend Murray is responsible for his death even if he did not give him the final and fatal dose because he was criminally reckless in using the surgical anesthetic to help Jackson sleep without proper precautions.
Defense anesthesiology expert Dr. Paul White is expected to testify Thursday in an effort to counter testimony from prosecution anesthesiologist Dr. Steven Shafer.
Shafer concluded that the "only scenario" that fits the scientific evidence is that Jackson was on an IV drip of propofol for three hours before his death and Murray failed to notice when he stopped breathing.
Shafer conceded that it was possible that Jackson, not Murray, could have been the one to open the drip to a fatal pace, but prosecutors contend it would make no difference in Murray's guilt.
The other remaining defense witness is believed to be an addiction expert who would testify that Jackson could have been suffering withdrawal from Demerol, a drug he'd been getting from another doctor up until several days before his death.
Murray cried in court Wednesday as he listened to an elderly patient tell jurors that he opened a clinic in the Acres Homes community of Houston, in honor of his father, who had practiced there.
Ruby Mosley was one of five character witnesses called by Murray's lawyers Wednesday morning in an effort to counter 17 days of prosecution testimony that sometimes painted him as an incompetent and greedy doctor.
"If this man had been greedy, he never would have come to an area, a community of Acres Homes, 75% of them poor, on welfare and Social Security," Mosley said.
Murray dabbed tears from his eyes even after Mosley left the stand.
Even Randy Jackson, the late pop icon's brother, seemed touched by Mosley's testimony.
"She's sweet," he was heard saying as she left the courtroom.
"He's the best doctor I've ever been to," said Gerry Causey, a 68-year-old former patient of the man accused of causing Jackson's death. "And I just don't think he did what he's being accused of," Causey added, under cross-examination by the prosecution.
Causey met Murray 11 years ago when he was rushed to a Las Vegas hospital with a heart attack, but they became friends since then, he testified.
"It's because of Dr. Murray, the way he cares for you, the way he makes you feel," Causey said.
Prosecutors contend that Murray abandoned his patients in Las Vegas and Houston for the $150,000 a month Jackson had promised him.
"There's no way, he's not greedy," Causey said. "He doesn't charge me my deductible, never has."
Las Vegas heart patient Andrew Guest, who followed Causey on the witness stand Wednesday, said Murray "makes sure you're OK during the procedure."
"That man sitting there is the best doctor I've ever seen," Guest testified.
Murray treated Dennis Hix by putting 14 stints into arteries around his heart 11 years ago, Hix testified.
"I'm 66, I've gone to a lot of doctors, a lot of doctors and I've never had one that gave me the care that he did," Hix said.
Murray never charged Hix beyond what his insurance would pay, he said. "I had a type of insurance that don't hardly pay for nothing," he said. "So he did it for me free."
View the original article here

Battle of experts resumes in trial of Michael Jackson's doctor

Testimony in the Conrad Murray manslaughter trial may conclude Friday or Monday as the defense is expected to call its last two witnesses to the stand.The science showdown between anesthesiologists takes center stage for the trial's conclusionTwo medical experts are the last defense witnesses Five character witnesses testify Dr. Conrad Murray saved their livesJury deliberations in Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial could begin early next weekTune in to HLN for full coverage and analysis of the Conrad Murray trial and watch live, as it happens, on CNN.com/Live and CNN's mobile apps.
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyers hope their last two witnesses will convince jurors in his involuntary manslaughter trial that Michael Jackson gave himself the overdose of drugs that killed him.
After five Murray heart patients testified Wednesday that he was a good and caring doctor who has saved their lives, two medical experts remain on the defense witness list. Testimony could conclude by Friday or Monday in the trial that started a month ago.
The Los Angeles County coroner ruled Jackson's June 25, 2009 death was the result of "acute propofol intoxication" in combination with several sedatives.
The defense theory is that a desperate Jackson, fearing his comeback concerts could be canceled unless he found elusive sleep, self-administered propofol that Murray was trying to wean him off of.
Prosecutors contend Murray is responsible for his death even if he did not give him the final and fatal dose because he was criminally reckless in using the surgical anesthetic to help Jackson sleep without proper precautions.
Defense anesthesiology expert Dr. Paul White is expected to testify Thursday in an effort to counter testimony from prosecution anesthesiologist Dr. Steven Shafer.
Shafer concluded that the "only scenario" that fits the scientific evidence is that Jackson was on an IV drip of propofol for three hours before his death and Murray failed to notice when he stopped breathing.
Shafer conceded that it was possible that Jackson, not Murray, could have been the one to open the drip to a fatal pace, but prosecutors contend it would make no difference in Murray's guilt.
The other remaining defense witness is believed to be an addiction expert who would testify that Jackson could have been suffering withdrawal from Demerol, a drug he'd been getting from another doctor up until several days before his death.
Murray cried in court Wednesday as he listened to an elderly patient tell jurors that he opened a clinic in the Acres Homes community of Houston, in honor of his father, who had practiced there.
Ruby Mosley was one of five character witnesses called by Murray's lawyers Wednesday morning in an effort to counter 17 days of prosecution testimony that sometimes painted him as an incompetent and greedy doctor.
"If this man had been greedy, he never would have come to an area, a community of Acres Homes, 75% of them poor, on welfare and Social Security," Mosley said.
Murray dabbed tears from his eyes even after Mosley left the stand.
Even Randy Jackson, the late pop icon's brother, seemed touched by Mosley's testimony.
"She's sweet," he was heard saying as she left the courtroom.
"He's the best doctor I've ever been to," said Gerry Causey, a 68-year-old former patient of the man accused of causing Jackson's death. "And I just don't think he did what he's being accused of," Causey added, under cross-examination by the prosecution.
Causey met Murray 11 years ago when he was rushed to a Las Vegas hospital with a heart attack, but they became friends since then, he testified.
"It's because of Dr. Murray, the way he cares for you, the way he makes you feel," Causey said.
Prosecutors contend that Murray abandoned his patients in Las Vegas and Houston for the $150,000 a month Jackson had promised him.
"There's no way, he's not greedy," Causey said. "He doesn't charge me my deductible, never has."
Las Vegas heart patient Andrew Guest, who followed Causey on the witness stand Wednesday, said Murray "makes sure you're OK during the procedure."
"That man sitting there is the best doctor I've ever seen," Guest testified.
Murray treated Dennis Hix by putting 14 stints into arteries around his heart 11 years ago, Hix testified.
"I'm 66, I've gone to a lot of doctors, a lot of doctors and I've never had one that gave me the care that he did," Hix said.
Murray never charged Hix beyond what his insurance would pay, he said. "I had a type of insurance that don't hardly pay for nothing," he said. "So he did it for me free."
View the original article here

Jackson family unite as trial nears end

Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyers will use the next four days to challenge the prosecution's contention that he is responsible for Michael Jackson's death."I decided we must be together right now," Janet Jackson says Monday starts what could be the last week of Dr. Conrad Murray's trialDefense cross-examination of the prosecution's expert anesthesiologist continuesAbout 15 defense witnesses are expected to testify
Los Angeles (CNN) -- With the involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor entering what could be its last week, Janet Jackson canceled shows in Australia to be with her family in Los Angeles.
Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyers will use the next four days to challenge the prosecution's contention that his reckless use of the surgical anesthesia propofol to help Jackson sleep makes him criminally responsible for the pop icon's death.
Janet Jackson sat with her parents and several siblings during the first five days of the trial, but she has not been at court in nearly three weeks.
"After talking with my family last night, I decided we must be together right now," she said in a statement posted Sunday on her website, announcing that three shows this week in Melbourne are canceled.
The concert promoter told Jackson fans it was "important that Janet is with her family at this critical point in the hearing."
If her flight arrives in Los Angeles before Monday morning, Jackson may see the last hours of the prosecution's key witness, anesthesiologist expert Dr. Steven Shafer.
The defense cross-examination of Shafer grew so heated and personal Friday that the judge called lawyers for a sidebar and ordered them to "cut it out!"
The defense is expected to begin presenting its case later Monday.
Murray's lawyers have said they plan to call about 15 witnesses, including three medical experts, a police officer and several of Murray's patients from his clinics in Las Vegas, Nevada and Houston.
Randy Phillips, the head of AEG Live, is set to be among the first witnesses the defense calls.
Murray's lawyers have argued that Jackson was pressured by Phillips, whose company was promoting his comeback concerts in London, to show up healthy and on time for rehearsals or else the tour might be canceled.
Murray told detectives Jackson begged for his "milk," his nickname for propofol, after a sleepless night and just hours before he died from what the coroner said was an overdose of the surgical anesthetic.
Murray, in a police interview, said he was using sedatives to wean Jackson from propofol, which he had used almost every night for two months to fight his insomnia. But after a long, restless night and morning, the lorazepam and midazolam had no effect, Murray said.
"I've got to sleep, Dr. Conrad," Murray said Jackson pleaded to him. "I have these rehearsals to perform. I must be ready for the show in England. Tomorrow, I will have to cancel my performance, because you know I cannot function if I don't get to sleep."
Murray said he gave into Jackson's pleas and gave him an injection of 25 milliliters of propofol at about 10:40 a.m.
Shafer testified last week that there was no way Jackson got only that amount of propofol, based on the high level of the drug found in blood taken during his autopsy.
The "only scenario" to explain Jackson's death was that he overdosed on propofol infused through an IV drip set up by Murray, Shafer said.
The Los Angeles County coroner ruled that Jackson's death was a homicide, the result of "acute propofol intoxication" in combination with sedatives.
The defense contends Jackson self-administered the fatal dose, along with sedatives, without Murray knowing.
Shafer said the level of propofol in Jackson's blood taken during his autopsy could not have been from either Murray or Jackson injecting the drug, but only from an IV system that was still flowing when his heart stopped.
Prosecutors, however, opened the door for one scenario in which Jackson, not Murray, could have triggered the overdose.
"Can you rule out the possibility that Michael Jackson manipulated something to cause it to flow?" Deputy District Attorney David Walgren asked Friday.
"That's a possibility," Shafer said. But that is assuming Murray set up the drip and left Jackson's side, he said.
Would Shafer's opinion that Murray was responsible for Jackson's death change if he knew Jackson turned the drip on?
"No, if Michael Jackson had reached up, seen the roller clamp and opened it himself, this is a foreseeable consequence of setting up an essentially dangerous way of giving drugs," Shafer said. "It doesn't change things at all. It would still be considered abandonment."
Defense lawyer Ed Chernoff cross-examined Shafer about the assumptions he used to reconstruct an IV drip system he believed Murray set up next to Jackson's bed. Shafer demonstrated the system in his testimony Thursday.
Jackson died because Murray failed to notice that his patient had stopped breathing while he was hooked up to an IV drip of propofol, Shafer testified. The doctor should have realized Jackson had stopped breathing, he said.
"When you're there, you see it, you know it," Shafer said.
Phone records and testimony showed that Murray was on the phone with one of his clinics, a patient, and then a girlfriend about the time that Shafer calculated the oxygen in Jackson's lungs became depleted, causing his heart to stop beating.
"Had Conrad Murray been with Michael Jackson during this period of time, he would have seen the slowed breathing and the compromise in the flow of air into Michael Jackson's lungs, and he could have easily turned off the propofol infusion," Shafer said.
Toxicology studies of drugs in Jackson's blood and computer models Shafer used to analyze how the singer died were overshadowed Friday when Chernoff focused on the personal and professional rivalry between Shafer and Dr. Paul White, the defense anesthesiology expert.
The experts first met in 1978 when White was an assistant professor at Stanford University and Shafer was a medical student. They became friends and co-authored research papers, but this trial appears to have changed their friendship.
Chernoff accused Shafer of wanting to "shove it down his (White's) professional throat" in a question stricken from the record by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor.
White, who has been sitting in the courtroom listening to Shafer's testimony, was lectured by Judge Pastor about comments about Shafer attributed to him in an online blog.
White admitted Friday that he told a reporter that he had changed his opinion of Shafer after hearing his testimony Thursday. "The truth will come out. It always does," E! News Online quoted White as saying.
White denied calling Shafer "a scumbag," as the website quoted him as saying.
Pastor, who imposed a gag order on all parties in the trial, set a contempt of court hearing for White next month.
View the original article here

Defense shows strain in trial of Michael Jackson's doctor

Dr. Shafer: Propofol drip 'dangerous'Defense lawyer Michael Flanagan is replaced for cross-ex of anesthesiology expertDr. Steven Shafer testifies Dr. Conrad Murray's IV drip of propofol killed JacksonJackson died because Murray failed to notice he stopped breathing, Shafer saysMurray's involuntary manslaughter trial should to go the jury next weekTune in to HLN for full coverage and analysis of the Conrad Murray trial and watch live, as it happens, on CNN.com/Live and CNN's mobile apps.
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Cross-examination of the prosecution's anesthesiology expert is crucial for Dr. Conrad Murray, but his defense team's most knowledgeable lawyer when it comes to propofol will sit on the sideline Friday.
Michael Flanagan, who has handled the previous medical experts, has been replaced by lead defense lawyer Ed Chernoff for the questioning of Dr. Steven Shafer, Chernoff told the judge in Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial Thursday. The defense did not cite a reason.
Murray appeared visibly shaken by Shafer's testimony Thursday, especially when the prosecution's expert demonstrated to jurors how he believes Murray set up an IV drip to give singer Michael Jackson the drugs that killed him.
Jackson died because Murray failed to notice that his patient had stopped breathing while he was hooked up to an IV drip of the surgical anesthetic propofol, Shafer testified. The doctor should have realized Jackson had stopped breathing about 11:45 a.m. on June 25, 2009, he said.
"When you're there, you see it, you know it," Shafer said.
Phone records and testimony showed that Murray was on the phone with one of his clinics, a patient, and then a girlfriend about the time that Shafer calculated the oxygen in Jackson's lungs became depleted, causing his heart to stop beating.
"Had Conrad Murray been with Michael Jackson during this period of time, he would have seen the slowed breathing and the compromise in the flow of air into Michael Jackson's lungs, and he could have easily turned off the propofol infusion," Shafer said.
Murray could have then easily cleared Jackson's airways and restored his breathing by lifting his chin, he said.
Earlier testimony from paramedics and emergency room doctors said Jackson was clinically dead by the time an ambulance arrived at the pop icon's Los Angeles home nearly a half-hour after Murray realized there was a problem.
The last three prosecution experts, all medical experts, focused the Murray trial on the science surrounding Jackson's death, a contrast to earlier testimony from Murray's girlfriends and Jackson employees.
After the defense cross-examination of Shafer on Friday afternoon, Murray's lawyers will start calling witnesses, including their own anesthesiology expert.
Shafer demonstrated for the jury Thursday how he believed Murray set up the propofol infusion by hanging a 100-milliliter vial from a stand with tubing attached that would have led to a catheter port in Jackson's left leg.
"This is the only scenario that I could generate" that would produce the high level of propofol found in Jackson's blood during his autopsy, Shafer said.
"This fits all of the data in this case, and I am not aware of any data that is inconsistent with this explanation," he said.
Shafer examined and ruled out other scenarios, including Jackson injecting himself with propofol or Murray administering a fatal dose with a syringe. Computer model projections could not identify a scenario that would duplicate the high blood levels found, he said.
Although Murray told police he used an IV drip to give Jackson propofol on previous nights, the defense contends that he did not use it the day Jackson died. Instead, they say, Murray put Jackson to sleep about 10:40 a.m. with a single injection.
Sometime after that, Jackson woke and used a syringe to inject himself, the defense contends.
Shafer said the theory makes no sense.
"People just don't wake up hell-bent to grab the next dose in a syringe, draw it up and shove it in their IV again," Shafer said. "It's just a crazy scenario."
The Los Angeles County coroner ruled that Jackson's death was caused by a combination of sedatives with the propofol, which Murray admitted in a police interview that he used to help Jackson sleep.
The defense contends that Jackson swallowed eight lorazepam tablets, a claim based on testing of lorazepam levels in Jackson's stomach contents. Shafer discredited the defense lab tests, saying a new test showed the equivalent of only "1/43rd of a tablet" of the sedative in the stomach.
The level of lorazepam in Jackson's blood was far higher than what would be expected based on the dosages Dr. Murray told detectives he gave Jackson in the hours before his death, Shafer said.
Murray said he gave Jackson a total of 4 milligrams of lorazepam in two separate doses starting 10 hours before his death. Toxicology results indicated that Jackson was given 40 milligrams -- not four -- in a series of 10 doses, he said.
Although the defense recently abandoned the theory that Jackson may have swallowed propofol, the prosecution still worked to use its old theory to discredit Dr. Paul White, the anesthesiologist who will testify soon for the defense.
A report prepared by White in March concluded that oral ingestion of propofol could have killed Jackson, but Shafer testified that it ignores the "first pass effect" that is taught to first-year medical students.
The liver is a "powerful mechanism" for filtering propofol from the digestive tract so that only a very small percentage can reach the blood, Shafer said.
Shafer cited several studies on rats, mice, piglets, dogs, monkeys and humans that he said proves swallowing propofol would have no effect.
"There was no sedation at any time following oral consumption of propofol," Shafer said, describing the results of research he commissioned on university students in Chile over the summer.
The human study was done not only to prepare for the Jackson trial, Shafer said, but also to counter an effort by the Drug Enforcement Agency to consider tighter restrictions on propofol.
The drug is not currently a controlled substance, but publicity over the theory that Jackson's death might have been caused by oral ingestion prompted federal regulators to considered a new requirement that "it to be handled almost like morphine," he said.
"Patients will be hurt if it is restricted," he said. "Anesthesiologists have to have ready access."
The new study assures that if the drug is abused, it would be done only with the intravenous route, which only health care providers have, he said.
Shafer testified Wednesday that Jackson would be alive now but for 17 "egregious deviations" by Murray from the standard of care required of physicians.
Murray's use of propofol almost every night for two months to help Jackson sleep was so unusual, there is no documentation on the dangers, Shafer said.
"We are in pharmacological never-neverland here," Shafer said, "something that's only been done to Michael Jackson."
The trial, in its fourth week, is expected to conclude with the start of jury deliberations near the end of next week.
View the original article here

Conrad Murray's trial resumes after five-day break

AppId is over the quota AppId is over the quota The Conrad Murray trial resumed Wednesday with an anesthesiology expert on the witness stand.NEW: Jurors will see a video Wednesday of a demonstration of propofol use in a hospitalNEW: The defense objecs to the video in which an actor pretends to suffer cardiac arrestA new California law means if Murray is convicted, he might never see a state prison cellOvercrowding means a four-year prison term could become less than two in jailTune in to HLN for full coverage and analysis of the Conrad Murray trial and watch live, as it happens, on CNN.com/live and CNN's mobile apps.

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The trial of Conrad Murray resumed Wednesday with an anesthesiology expert who is likely to be the last witness before the prosecution rests its direct case.

Murray is on trial for involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of pop icon Michael Jackson.

He has pleaded not guilty.

Dr. Steven Shafer's testimony was delayed Wednesday morning while Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor viewed a 18-minute video that the prosecution wanted to show demonstrating how the surgical anesthetic propofol is administered in a hospital setting.

Judge Pastor ruled much of it could be shown in court, including a demonstration of what happens when a patient experiences cardiac arrest while under propofol.

"It's a terrifying dramatization of a person experiencing cardiac arrest, complete with visual effects," defense lawyer Ed Chernoff said in his argument against letting jurors see it.

Deputy District Attorney David Walgren spent an extended mid-morning break re-editing the video to delete scenes not accepted by the judge, including with an anesthesiologist meeting a patient and getting a signed informed consent statement. Judge Pastor ruled that irrelevant in this case.

Dr. Shafer's testimony was suspended last Thursday to enable his lawyers to study a new lab test and allow the prosecution's anesthesiology expert, Steven Shafer, to attend a medical convention. It was delayed again after a death in the expert's family.

The judge indicated if Shafer's testimony is completed Wednesday, court would recess the following day to allow the defense to prepare before presenting its case Friday.

Prosecutors are nearing a conclusion to their direct presentation, but rebuttal witnesses could be called next week after the defense rests its case.

Prosecutors allege that Murray, who was Jackson's personal doctor as he prepared for planned comeback concerts, is criminally responsible for the singer's death because of medical negligence and his reckless use of the surgical anesthetic propofol to help him sleep.

Murray faces a maximum sentence of four years if convicted of involuntary manslaughter, but a new California law could mean the doctor would never see the inside of a state prison cell.

The law, intended to reduce state prison overcrowding, provides for most nonviolent offenders with no prior record to be kept in county jails.

A four-year sentence could become two years if Murray is ordered to serve his time in the Los Angeles County jail, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Nicole Nishida.

In addition, the Los Angeles jail is under court order to reduce overcrowding, which means many nonviolent first time offenders are allowed to serve the bulk of their time under supervised house arrest.

A conviction, however, would likely trigger the revocation of Murray's medical licenses in California, Texas and Nevada.

The trial, in its fourth week, is still expected to conclude with the start of jury deliberations next week.

Shafer is crucial to the state's effort to prove Jackson's death was caused by the doctor's gross negligence in using propofol to help the entertainer sleep.

View the original article here