Conrad Murray's suffering in jail a 'slow death'

Lawyer: Conrad Murray's suffering in jail a 'slow death'

By Alan Duke, CNN
October 11, 2012 -- Updated 0826 GMT (1626 HKT)

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The doctor convicted in Michael Jackson's death is suffering possibly life-threatening and permanent injuries after almost a year in a small cell with "extremely limited access to exercise," his lawyer said Wednesday.

Dr. Conrad Murray is housed in a high-security section of the Los Angeles County jail because of his notoriety, which isolates him from the general population for his protection.

"Death or injury at the hands of another prisoner, however, is no worse than a slow death caused by a loss of circulation and atrophy resulting from inhumane confinement of a large man in a tiny space," attorney Michael Flanagan wrote in a letter addressed to Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca Wednesday.

Murray -- jailed since November 7, 2011, when he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death -- is 6 feet 5 inches tall, but confined in a 5-feet-by-7-feet cell, Flanagan wrote.

"If one were to keep a dog in a space just a few inches larger than the dog's length, for any extended period of time, contentions of animal cruelty possibly leading to prosecution would likely result," attorney Michael Flanagan wrote.

Murray was taken to a hospital Sunday night for treatment of what his lawyer described as "marked venous stasis of his lower extremities" and "right shoulder pain and severe loss of motion."

Flanagan's letter suggested the sheriff has "alternatives available to protect society and punish offenders that would not likely result in causing permanent injury or death to an inmate."

California law allows Baca, at his discretion, to release Murray under monitored home confinement. Otherwise, he is set to remain in jail for another year.

Murray was sentenced to the maximum four years in prison for the conviction, but he is eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence. A California law intended to relieve overcrowding in state prisons resulted in Murray being kept in the county jail.

His jail cell is so small that Murray has "no opportunity for physical movement throughout the day," Flanagan wrote. "The only actual exercise that Dr. Murray received occurs on most Monday evenings when he is transferred in chains to an 8-by-8 cage on the roof of the facility."

Murray, in a phone call to a friend Monday that was published Wednesday by the celeb news website TMZ, complained that he feared his illness would be permanent. "I may never be able to wear a boot again," he said.

"The venous stasis gives rise to a high risk for deep vein thrombosis and/or migrating pulmonary embolism," his lawyer wrote to the sheriff. "This condition may have developed to a chronic state which has become permanent and uncorrectable necessitating a lifetime of medication and treatment."

Murray's physical appearance has changed dramatically since he was taken into custody, his lawyer wrote.

"A review of earlier booking photos and bio-statistics of Dr. Murray, when compared to his current condition and appearance, would be shocking to persons not previously familiar with him," he wrote. "To those who have known him for the last year or longer, the suffering that has obviously taken its toll on his health is unimaginable."

He is allowed out of the small cell for just two and a half hours a week, he said.
"Dr. Murray's cell is proportional to that of a travel cage used for short-term transportation of an animal," he said.

Keeping a human in such conditions "would at the very least give rise to civil liability for negligent confinement resulting in a debilitating medical condition," Flanagan wrote.

"Please consider this letter as notice of the life-threatening condition in which Dr. Murray currently exists," he told the sheriff. "Correction of this intolerable situation is of extreme importance."

Murray was found guilty of causing Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, by administering a deadly overdose of sedatives and the surgical anesthetic propofol in what he told police was an attempt to cure his insomnia.


@Sorry, there is no link, because 'New members are not allowed to post external links or emails for 7 days.' I'll paste it in 3 or 4 days.

This is the life in jail. I don’t think Murray is particularly mistreated, but treated like all the other prisoners in the same section there. He just complains hoping home confinement. I even think he is lucky to have been transported to a hospital for minor disturbances. In such a case, a prisoner should be treated in a medical facility in prison.

This is from TMZ. As CNN quoted TMZ in the previous article, I paste this article, but this is exceptional.
Do you know they make money on each click? I didn’t know that. Thanks to Admin, I just learned that. From now I'll avoid going on TMZ.


Dr. Conrad Murray : Jail Is KILLING ME!

10/10/2012 1:00 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Dr. Conrad Murray says his body is in worse shape than one of those zombies from the Michael Jackson 'Thriller' video ... claiming he's suffered serious injuries behind bars ... and he wants out.

TMZ has obtained a recording of a jailhouse phone call between Murray and a friend ... in which the Doc says he was rushed to USC Medical Center earlier this week after fearing he was suffering from deadly blood clots in his legs.

"It progressed until the leg felt numb ... it was painful all to the top of my foot ... around the medial aspect of my ankle and all the way to the mid-calf."

Murray -- who was a licensed doctor before he killed Michael Jackson -- explained, "Blood clots are relatively risky ... especially if they propagate from the legs into the lungs to cause pulmonary embolism which can result in permanent disability or even death."

Ultimately, doctors who are currently licensed determined there were no blood clots and returned Murray to his cell ... where he says he continues to suffer.

"I have had to lay in bed for most of the day because there is no way to elevate my feet. One of the recommendations by the doctor is to keep my legs elevated and to increase my activity which is impossible in a 5x7 cell."

During the call, Murray gripes that his feet have become so swollen, "I may never be able to wear a boot again." So much for line-dancing after his release ...

Murray then issues a veiled threat -- "I don't want to be permanently hurt by any condition in here ... because if I am, I will not let it rest."

He also complains about pain in his right shoulder ... and as we previously reported, he came down with a ferocious case of diarrhea earlier this year.

His lawyer has even sent a letter to the L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca, asking the jail for more humane treatment -- comparing Murray's situation to a dog in a small cage.

Jail -- it ain't the Hilton.



@I have not yet the right to put links