Jackson family wants the late singer’s doctor to face murder charge

LOS ANGELES -- Michael Jackson's family believes involuntary manslaughter charges against the pop singer's physician would be "just a slap on the wrist," attorney Brian Oxman said Wednesday.

Oxman told CBS' "The Early Show" that Dr. Conrad Murray displayed recklessness in dispensing powerful drugs to help Jackson sleep, warranting a second-degree murder charge. Involuntary manslaughter, the charge prosecutors reportedly plan to seek, carries a maximum jail sentence of four years.

"That is just a slap on the wrist, and a slap in the face, because Michael Jackson was someone who we knew was in danger of being brought to his knees, brought his death, by the use of these medications," Oxman said.

Murray's attorney said the doctor is ready to surrender to authorities if prosecutors file charges.

While there is no public timetable for charges to be filed against Murray, there are strong indications the move is imminent.

Murray, who has a practice in Houston and an office and home in Las Vegas, came to Los Angeles last weekend and spent Tuesday afternoon meeting with his newly assembled team of three lawyers.

The district attorney's office has not said if it will file charges, but lead defense attorney Ed Chernoff said Murray is ready for such a move.

"I haven't received any phone call from anybody asking for the doctor to surrender," Chernoff said. "If we get the call, we'll be happy to."

A law enforcement official last month said prosecutors had decided to seek a grand jury indictment on an involuntary manslaughter charge.

On Tuesday, a second law enforcement official said prosecutors were sticking with the charge but planned to file a criminal complaint to avoid the appearance of secrecy in the case.

Jackson, 50, hired Murray to be his personal physician as he prepared for a strenuous series of comeback performances in London.

His death on June 25 in Los Angeles came after Murray, tending to Jackson in the star's rented mansion, administered the powerful anesthetic propofol and two other sedatives to get the chronic insomniac to sleep, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office, which ruled the death a homicide.

Murray, a cardiologist, has maintained that nothing he gave the singer should have killed him.

Administering propofol to Jackson wasn't illegal, so prosecutors must show Murray deviated from accepted medical norms when he administered it in a non-medical setting while Jackson already had other sedatives in his system.

Murray was in dire financial shape when he signed on as Jackson's doctor, owing at least $780,000 in judgments against him and other payments. Low wouldn't say what financial arrangements the lawyers had made to represent Murray.

Also Wednesday, a judge in Las Vegas found Murray in default on a nearly $132,000 debt related to office medical equipment and services.

Murray didn't appear in Clark County District Court before Judge Michael Villani found him in default and awarded a judgment to Digirad Imaging Solutions.

Murray spokeswoman Miranda Sevcik said Murray was in Los Angeles meeting with defense lawyers in case he is charged in Jackson's death.

Digirad attorney Nathan Gibbs told the judge Murray has never appeared in the case. He will tally interest since 2006 and submit a written final judgment for the judge's signature.