Jackson doctor Murray learns his fate today

LOS ANGELES -- Michael Jackson's doctor faces the singer's family and fans again when he returns to court today for sentencing in the death of the superstar from an overdose of an anesthetic he was receiving to battle insomnia.

Dr. Conrad Murray's sentencing for involuntary manslaughter is the final step in the criminal case launched within days of Jackson's death in June 2009.

Prosecutors want a judge to sentence Murray, 58, to the maximum four-year prison term. Defense attorneys counter that Murray faces a lifetime of shame and diminished opportunities and should get probation.

How long Murray might remain behind bars depends on the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, which would base the decision on good behavior and other factors. Even without prison overcrowding and a new state law that will send Murray to county jail rather than prison, a four-year sentence could be cut in half by good behavior.

Jackson's mother, Katherine, and several siblings routinely attended the six-week trial, which ended with the conviction on Nov. 7.

Prosecutors portrayed Murray as an incompetent doctor who administered propofol -- an extremely potent anesthetic normally used during surgery -- in Jackson's bedroom without adequate safeguards and botched the singer's care when things went wrong.

Prosecutors also are seeking restitution for Jackson's three children and filed a statement from the singer's estate stating that the cost of the funeral was more than $1.8 million. The letter also notes that Jackson would have earned $100 million if he had performed a planned series of concerts in London.

The doctor's fate lies with Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor, who will determine the sentence. He had harsh words for Murray on the day he was convicted.

"Dr. Murray's reckless conduct in this case poses a demonstrable risk to the safety of the public," Pastor said before the cardiologist was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.

Pastor also could address Murray's decision to participate in a documentary that was filmed throughout the trial and aired days after the conviction.

Murray states in the film, which aired on MSNBC under the title "Michael Jackson and the Doctor: A Fatal Friendship," that he doesn't feel guilty about the singer's death because he doesn't think he did anything wrong.

Prosecutors cited Murray's comments in their filing last week urging the judge to impose the maximum sentence.

"Finally, the defendant consistently blames the victim for his own death," they said, "even going so far as to characterize himself as being 'entrapped' by the victim and as someone who suffered a 'betrayal' at the hands of the victim."

Murray's attorneys are relying largely on statements from his former patients to portray him in a softer light and win a lighter sentence.

"There is no question that the death of his patient, Mr. Jackson, was unintentional and an enormous tragedy for everyone affected," defense attorneys wrote in their sentencing memo. "Dr. Murray has been described as a changed, grief-stricken man, who walks around under a pall of sadness since the loss of his patient, Mr. Jackson."