Though Dr. Conrad Murray showed poignant emotion about Michael Jackson in an interview conducted before his involuntary manslaughter conviction yesterday, the singer's sister Rebbie made it clear Tuesday that she has no sympathy for the man she holds responsible for her brother’s death.
In an exclusive interview with TODAY conducted Oct. 30 that will be part of a MSNBC special, “Michael Jackson and the Doctor,” airing Friday, Murray choked up as he told Savannah Guthrie of Jackson’s last words before his overdose death the morning of June 25, 2009.
“It was probably when he was pleading, and begging me, to please, please, let him have some milk,” he told Guthrie. “Because that was the only thing that would work.”
But appearing live on TODAY Tuesday, Jackson’s oldest sister, Rebbie Jackson, told Ann Curry she has little sympathy for Murray or his feelings of friendship toward her deceased brother.
“I do not (feel sympathetic),” she told Curry. “I don’t, because if you love someone, you’re going to do what you think is best for them, not what they want you to do.”
On Monday, Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Jackson, with 12 jurors, after 22 days of testimony, unanimously saying Murray was criminally negligent in administering the King of Pop a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol.
‘One friend’
During the two years between the initial charge and the final jury verdict, Murray’s legal team gave access to a film crew as Murray awaited his legal fate. In footage that aired Tuesday on TODAY, Murray often seemed angry and confrontational on camera, but in quieter moments talked of the bond between himself and Jackson.
“(Jackson) said, ‘Of all my life, I have found one friend, which is you, Dr. Conrad,’ ” he said.
But while Rebbie Jackson admitted to Curry her brother “had an addiction to prescription drugs — I do know that,” she said she believes Murray went against his professional oath in administrating propofol in a private setting. “So no matter what the situation was, he was wrong, because he’s not supposed to do that at all.”
In an interview for the MSNBC special, Murray discussed Jackson’s drug dependence and his declining state in the last days of his life. “He really could not sleep,” he said. “Have you ever seen the `Thriller’ (video) image when he was made up? He looked (like that) — hysterical.
“He lived a life greater than 100 years of pain.”
Slideshow 16 photos
The changing face of Michael Jackson
‘Nothing will bring him back’
Following Monday’s guilty verdict, Murray’s lawyers asked Judge Michael Pastor to release the doctor on bail, pending his sentencing. But Pastor ordered Murray to jail, where he spent his first night after being free on bail since charges were originally brought two years ago.
“Dr. Murray’s reckless conduct in this case poses a demonstrable risk to the safety of the public,” Pastor said in court.
While Pastor could mete out a sentence ranging from probation to four years in prison, Rebbie Jackson believes that any sentence would be small compared to her brother’s death.
“From what I understand, the jails are overcrowded … so he might just get house arrest,” she told Curry. “And it’s sad, because my brother is gone and nothing will bring him back, and that’s for sure.”
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Michael Jackson’s life and career
Rebbie said that the emotions she felt in the courtroom when the verdict was read Monday were not what she expected.
“I thought I was going to feel as though I got a tremendous amount of relief, but I felt really numb, and not only that, I started crying profusely,” she told Curry.
“Because the reality of what had transpired really hit me at that point … it just sort of brought everything back to reality.”
She added Michael’s children Prince, Paris and Blanket were in school at the time of the courtroom verdict, “but I’m sure they feel a lot of relief.”
“Michael Jackson and the Doctor” will air Friday at 10 p.m. ET on MSNBC.
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