A juror in the case of Michael Jackson's person physician said she and her fellow panelists were convinced immediately that Conrad Murray was guilty, but there was some initial discord.
She described some tense moments in the jury room during the first day of deliberations. While everyone agreed Murray was responsible for Jackson's death, not everyone was convinced he bore sole responsibility, the juror told "Good Morning America."
"It was stressful. It was a lot of work. Yelling, everybody was talking." said Debbie Franklin, 48, of Temple City, in the ABC interview.
FULL COVERAGE: Trial of Conrad Murray
The first vote last Friday was not unanimous. But after a weekend break, Franklin said, the jury agreed on a guilty verdict for involuntary manslaughter.
"We absolutely agree that he did not mean to do this," Franklin told ABC. "We don't think he even had a motive to do this. We think it was something that he was doing that was careless that got out of hand."
But she added Murray did many things wrong: "The three biggest things for us were the 911 call, not calling 911. That was a big issue, and not having the medical equipment in the room to put somebody under sedation and leaving the room," she said.
Murray faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison and a minimum sentence of probation.
Immediately after the verdict, Murray was handcuffed at the direction of the judge and is to remain in custody pending his Nov. 29 sentencing. The stern approach the judge took in sending Murray to jail rather than releasing him on bail suggested the minimum sentence of probation is unlikely.
A jury found that Murray acted with criminal negligence and that those actions were a substantial factor in Jackson's 2009 death. The panel rejected the defense assertion that Jackson gave himself a fatal overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol and therefore was responsible for his own death.
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-- Shelby Grad, Harriet Ryan and Victoria Kim
Photo: Dr. Conrad Murray is handcuffed after being convicted in the death of Michael Jackson. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times
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