'Michael Jackson's death was caused by his own choices,' AEG Live lawyer says

Michael Jackson was a grown man who personally selected his Dr. Feelgood and chose to put the equivalent of a loaded gun to his head each night with daredevil drug use, a lawyer for concert promoter AEG Live told jurors Wednesday.


Marvin Putnam had his last chance to address jurors in Katherine Jackson's billion-dollar wrongful death lawsuit and hammered the concept of personal responsibility over and over like a chorus.

"Plaintiffs want you to hold a concert promoter liable for (Michael's) drug overdose in his private bedroom, behind locked doors at the hands of his doctor on June 25, 2009," Putnam said twice, repeating himself for emphasis.

"The sad truth here is that Michael Jackson's death was caused by his own choices."

The King of Pop was a consenting adult on the verge of his 50th birthday, and when he informed AEG he wanted his personal physician - Dr. Conrad Murray - with him on tour, "it was not for AEG Live to interfere with that longtime doctor-patient relationship," Putnam said.

He told the jurors — who started hearing testimony five months ago — that AEG Live was as stunned as the rest of the world to learn Michael died from an overdose of the surgery-strength anesthetic propofol given in a makeshift medical theater inside his gated and guarded mansion.

 "Simply stated, AEG never would have agreed to finance this tour if it knew Mr. Jackson played Russian roulette every night in his bedroom. It wasn't going to happen," Putnam said.

Murray - now serving four years for involuntary manslaughter - was a cardiologist, not an anesthesiologist, and had no malpractice complaints before Michael's death, he said.

As far as AEG Live knew, Dr. Murray was Michael's internist, treating him for things like dehydration and the common cold, he said.
"If Michael Jackson had asked for an anesthesiologist…that would have been a red flag," he said.
Putnam agreed it was no secret that AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips and touring honcho Paul Gongaware were willing to move mountains to get Michael to London for his 50 "This Is It" comeback concerts.

"They were incredibly excited about it. They wanted to move forward, to be part of Mr. Jackson's redemption. And yes, they also wanted to make a profit. There's no question about that. But that doesn't change the facts. It doesn't change that adults are responsible for the choices they make," he said.