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Michael Jackson's Doctor Freed After Serving Half Of Sentence

Conrad Murray at a court hearing in 2010.
David McNew
/
AFP/Getty Images
Conrad Murray at a court hearing in 2010.

Conrad Murray, the physician convicted two years ago in the death of pop star Michael Jackson, was released from a Los Angeles jail at 12:52 a.m. local time Monday.

The 58-year-old Murray ended up serving about half of the 4-year sentence he received for, as The Associated Press puts it, "providing the superstar with an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid."

According to the Los Angeles Times, "under state sentencing rules, Murray was eligible for parole well in advance of the end of his sentences."

The AP adds that "the former doctor is appealing his conviction, although an appeals court has questioned whether it needs to hear the case. ... His license to practice medicine has been suspended or revoked in three states."

Jackson, 50, died on June 25, 2009.

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.