BREAKING NEWS - Conrad Murray Sentenced To Four Years Behind Bars

Conrad Murray has been sentenced to four years behind bars for his involvement in Michael Jackson's death, which is the maximum penalty for involuntary manslaughter.

In an interesting twist, the court does not have the legal authority to send Murray to state prison due to a loophole in state legislation, so Murray will begin serving his time in LA County Jail. However, due to overcrowding, it is being reported that Murray may only serve 2 years, and he may have the option of serving his sentence while under house arrest.

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor announced the decision and told the court, "Michael Jackson died because of a totality of circumstances which are directly attributable to Dr Murray ... which violated his obligations to his patient. Those violations overcome the aspects of Dr. Murray's treatment of other patients and the good deeds he may have done before that." Judge Pastor noted that while Murray was eligible for probation, he "unquestionably violated the trust and confidence of his patient," and his lack of remorse and recklessness showed that he was essentially unworthy of receiving probation.

Murray told detectives he had been giving the late singer nightly doses of propofol to help him sleep, even though the drug is only supposed to be used in hospital settings and has never been approved as a sleep aid. Jackson passed away on June 25, 2009, and the cause of death was determined to be acute propofol intoxication. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled Jackson's death a homicide, and on November 7, Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

Murray did not speak during his sentencing today, but his attorney Ed Chernoff stated that he had chatted with Murray yesterday about his fate. Chernoff acknowledged that Murray was out of line, but he seemed to suggest that it was the King of Pop's fault, telling the court, "Michael Jackson was a drug seeker, and he sought it out from Conrad Murray, who was wrong in providing it."

Though he declined to testify during his trial, Murray stated in a recent documentary, "I don't feel guilty because I did not do anything wrong," and he also blamed Jackson for entrapping him into administering the medicine. Prosecutors have cited Murray's statements of "deception" to advocate for him receiving the maximum sentence, adding, "The defendant was playing Russian roulette with Michael Jackson's life every night."