It's official: AEG Live will not be held accountable in Michael Jackson wrongful death trial. The verdict, which was just read, held AEG Live accountable for hiring Dr. Conrad Murray, but ruled that Murray was not incapable of treating Jackson, which was the defining question in the case. Which means, ultimately, AEG wins, and the Jackson family loses.
As previously reported, Michael's mother Katherine Jackson and Michael's three kids were the ones suing AEG Live under the claim that the company hired Dr. Conrad Murray—who in 2011 was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter of Michael—and that they pushed Michael beyond his limits when he was preparing for his "This Is It" tour. In defense, AEG Live claimed that Michael was actually the one to hire Conrad Murray, and that they never supervised him—or had any idea that Murray administering a fatal dose of anesthetic propofol was what led to Michael's death.
As the verdict was being read, the presiding juror read out the two questions that jurors had to answer. The first, "Did AEG Live hire Dr. Conrad Murray," was determined to be "yes," and he second question, "Was Dr. Conrad Murray unfit or incompetent to perform the work for which he was hired?" the answer was "no."
The jurors were then polled, so the court could hear their individual answers, and it was ruled that AEG Live would not be charged with negligence in Michael's death.
This comes after court officials announced that the jury in the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial had reached a verdict after three days of deliberation, and five months of testimony.
[via TMZ]
