Dr. Conrad Murray (C) wipes a tear during the opening arguments in his trial in the death of pop star Michael Jackson in Los Angeles September 27, 2011.(Agencies) |
Click for images of Michael Jackson lying dead and the demonstrators
Images of Michael Jackson lying dead in a hospital and rehearsing the day before his death, along with recollections of the singer as a troubled "lost boy," made for a heart-wrenching opening on Tuesday to the manslaughter trial of the doctor hired to care for him. In opening arguments two years after Jackson's death by drug overdose of propofol and sedatives, prosecutor David Walgren told jurors the "Thriller" singer "literally put his life in the hands of Dr. Conrad Murray." "That misplaced trust in the hands of Conrad Murray cost Michael Jackson his life," Walgren said. But Murray's lawyers argued Jackson "caused his own death" by giving himself extra medication in a bid to sleep. "He died so rapidly, so instantly, he didn't even have time to close his eyes," defense attorney Ed Chernoff said in opening arguments. Murray denies he is guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of Jackson on June 25, 2009, but admits giving the 50-year-old pop star a dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid. He faces a prison sentence of up to four years if convicted. The trial is expected to last four to six weeks. The Texas cardiologist, who was paid $150,000 a month to care for Jackson, wiped away tears during Tuesday's opening statements as Chernoff defended him. Jackson's lifeless body was found at his rented Los Angeles mansion just three weeks before a series of 50 planned London comeback concerts titled "This Is It" were scheduled to begin. Kenny Ortega, the co-director of the concerts, testified that Jackson was excited about the shows because he wanted his young children to see him perform. Walgren opened the prosecution case by showing jurors a photo of a thin Jackson lying dead on a hospital gurney. He later played video of Jackson's last performance -- an emotional rehearsal of "Earth Song" filmed on June 24, 2009. Footage of the rehearsals was made into Jackson's posthumous concert movie "This Is It" in 2009 and it became a global box office hit. Jackson's parents, Joe and Katherine, his sisters, Janet and La Toya, and other family members were in court on Tuesday, while outside the courtroom dozens of fans held sunflowers, pictures of the dead pop star, and placards saying "Justice for Michael." (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies)
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杰克遜私人醫(yī)生被控過失殺人罪一案本周二再度開庭。在庭審前,法庭公布了杰克遜在醫(yī)院的遺照,以及去世前一天的彩排影像,勾起了人們對生前麻煩不斷的“迷失的小孩”杰克遜的回憶,令人揪心不已。 兩年前,杰克遜因服用過量異丙酚及鎮(zhèn)定劑去世。檢察官大衛(wèi)?瓦爾格倫在開庭陳述中告訴陪審團,杰克遜“把自己的性命交給了康拉德·莫里醫(yī)生”。杰克遜曾演唱經(jīng)典歌曲《顫栗》。 瓦爾格倫說:“杰克遜錯誤地信任了康拉德?莫里,丟掉了性命?!?/p> 但莫里的律師稱,杰克遜為了入睡服用了過量藥物,他本人應(yīng)該為自己的死負責(zé)。莫里的辯護律師埃德·切諾夫在開庭陳述中說:“他走得太快,那么匆忙,都來不及閉上眼睛。” 莫里否認自己犯下了過失殺人罪,但承認為了幫助睡眠,曾給過50歲的杰克遜一劑強效麻醉劑異丙酚。如果罪名成立,他將面臨最多4年監(jiān)禁。這場審判預(yù)計將持續(xù)4到6周。杰克遜于2009年6月25日去世。 莫里是德克薩斯的一名心臟病專家,他受雇為杰克遜的私人醫(yī)生,月薪15萬美元。周二的開庭陳述中,辯護律師切諾夫為他辯護時,莫里當(dāng)場灑淚。 杰克遜原定在倫敦舉辦名為《就是這樣》的50場復(fù)出演唱會,但在演唱會舉辦三周前,人們在其位于洛杉磯的租住公寓內(nèi)發(fā)現(xiàn)了他的遺體。 演唱會的導(dǎo)演之一肯尼?奧特加作證時說,杰克遜對即將到來的演出非常興奮,因為他想讓自己年幼的孩子們看他表演。 瓦爾格倫開庭時向陪審團出示了瘦弱的杰克遜躺在醫(yī)院輪床上的照片,隨后還播放了杰克遜最后的表演錄像——2009年6月24日動人的《地球之歌》彩排。 彩排錄像在2009年制作成音樂會紀(jì)錄片《就是這樣》,并在全球熱映。 杰克遜的父親喬、母親凱瑟琳、姐姐拉托婭、妹妹珍妮以及其他家庭成員出席了周二的庭審,法庭外,數(shù)十名粉絲手捧向日葵和逝去天王的遺像,還拉著橫幅,上面寫著“為邁克爾討回公道”。 相關(guān)閱讀 (中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 Julie 編輯:馮明惠) |
Vocabulary: manslaughter: 過失殺人罪 propofol: 異丙酚,一種麻醉藥 sedative: 鎮(zhèn)靜劑 in the hands of: held and controlled by someone(交托給,由……處理) gurney: (醫(yī)院里推送病人用的)輪床 posthumous: occurring or continuing after one's death(死后的,身后的) placard: a sign or notice for display in a public place(布告,張貼) |