BREAKING NEWS: Jury reaches verdict in manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor

Guilty or not guilty? The jury reached a verdict Monday and it will be read Monday afternoon

After just two days of deliberations the jury deliberating manslaughter charges against Dr. Conrad Murray has reached a verdict.
The verdict will be read Monday afternoon at 4:00pm EST, after Michael Jackson's family has time to arrive at the courthouse, although his children are not expected.
In addition Dr. Murray is travelling to the courthouse from Santa Monica, where he has been with his family.
The court is giving a two hour window before reading the guilty or not guilty conclusion.
The identities of the seven men and five women, who are weighing up whether Dr Conrad Murray is guilty of involuntary manslaughter, have been kept a secret, even from case lawyers.
But details about their lives culled from lengthy written questionnaires, have now been revealed.
The panel are a diverse cross-section of people of varying ethnicities from different towns in LA.

Parents: Joe and Katherine Jackson arrive for the reading of the verdict in Dr Conrad Murray's trial in the death of their son, pop star Michael Jackson 

They are white, black and Hispanic, mostly middle-aged and live in an assortment of suburbs. Most have children and some have grandchildren.
They include a professor, postman, bus driver, actor and film animation supervisor.
They knew about the involuntary manslaughter charge against Murray before they came to court and most of them know Jackson's music.

Randy and LaToya Jackson also arrived before the verdict. LaToya tweeted that she was so nervous about the impending verdict that she was shaking as she made her way to the courthouse

Family: Brother Jermaine Jackson arrives with his wife Halima Rashid as the Jackson clan gather for the verdict in their brother's death

SENTENCING OPTIONS IF GUILTY

If Dr Conrad Murray is convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson, he would face a sentence ranging from probation to four years in prison. Below are some of the factors related to sentencing:

• Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor would receive a probation department report on Murray recommending a sentence. Both prosecution and defence lawyers also would also file recommendations. But the final decision is his and his alone.
• Judge Pastor can consider that Murray is a defendant with no prior criminal record, a circumstance that might mitigate in favor of probation.
• Because of AB109, a recent California prison realignment bill, Murray probably would not go to state prison. If given a prison sentence, he would most likely serve it in the county jail because of prison overcrowding. There has been speculation that he would be allowed to serve a term of house arrest.
• The penal code calls for a convicted defendant to be sentenced in 20 days, but he can waive that time while his lawyers prepare a motion for a new trial and an appeal. He could remain free on bail during that period.
•  If convicted Murray would lose his medical license, but he could lose it even if is acquitted.

A few said they were fans and one, the video animation specialist, said he had some interaction with Jackson when the singer was making the video, Captain EO.
Nine of them have prior jury experience and one woman, a native of Spain, has served on five juries, all of which reached verdicts. She was once a jury forewoman.
A woman who has worked as a paralegal for 30 years is serving on her first jury and appeared enthralled.
In six weeks together the jurors have displayed uncommon attentiveness to the task at hand. Several, including alternates, have taken notes and kept lists of evidence. Once, when the judge was at a loss to find the number of an exhibit, a member of the jury spoke up and told him.
There were no drooping eyelids or distracted glances. When a scientific expert was conducting experiments on the floor of the courtroom, panelists stood up in the jury box to get a better view.
Their attention to evidence and witnesses has impressed Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor, who commended them for their commitment, punctuality in getting to court and willingness to give up their personal lives to serve.
When the trial went longer than Pastor had predicted, he apologised, but the jurors seemed unperturbed.
Every night, when he gave them an admonition to avoid the news, the Internet and other sources of information about the trial, they listened as if it was the first time they had heard it and they nodded in agreement.

The Michael Jackson trial has been presided over by Judge Michael Pastor

NOT PRESENT: Jackson's three children Prince, 14, Blanket, 9, and Paris, 13, have stayed away from the entire trial as well as staying away from the verdict

Many of the panelists have a familiarity with prescription drugs; most of them said they trust their doctors and several believe that celebrities receive a different kind of justice than average people.
Some have learned about the justice system from TV, watching such shows as Law and Order and CSI. Others watched broadcasts of real-life, high-profile trials including the Casey Anthony case and the O.J. Simpson trial.

Consider the facts: Mr Chernoff, left, and LA Deputy District Attorney David Walgren, address the jury who have been revealed to be a diverse bunch, many with children and grandchildren

One woman, an accounting manager, remembered that during the Simpson trial, 'a TV was brought to the office for everyone to follow it.' A man in his 30s said he followed that trial in school as an educational experience.
While not sequestered, the jurors have had a rare opportunity to bond because they were kept together for lunch and transported together between a secret parking lot and the courthouse. In order to avoid exposure to events outside the courtroom, the judge had lunch catered for them every day.
But during lunches and coffee breaks there was one thing they could not discuss - the trial. Now, in a secluded jury room, they can give each other their opinions as they try to reach a verdict.

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