No way Jackson self-injected fatal drug -expert

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – The claim by attorneys of  Michael Jackson’s doctor that the singer killed himself with an  injection of the powerful anesthetic propofol is a “crazy  scenario,” a top anesthesiology expert testified today.
Dr. Steven Shafer told jurors that the level of propofol  found in Jackson’s bloodstream at his 2009 autopsy was too high  to be explained by the theory that he self-injected.
As the last prosecution witness at Dr. Conrad Murray’s  involuntary manslaughter trial, Shafer also sought to undercut  defense attorney theories that Jackson swallowed a fatal number  of sedative lorazepam pills.
Murray admitted to police that, while at Jackson’s mansion,  he injected him with propofol and lorazepam as a sleep aid. But  Murray’s attorneys have argued Jackson could have given himself  an extra, fatal dose of propofol while alone in his bedroom.
Shafer discounted that idea, saying the 50 year-old  “Thriller” singer would have had to inject himself several  times to achieve a cumulative rise of the propofol in his  bloodstream.
“People just don’t wake up from anesthesia like that,”  Shafer told jurors, after flailing his arms to mimic a patient  regaining consciousness and then injecting himself.
“People don’t wake up … hellbent to give themselves  another dose,” Shafer said. “It’s a crazy scenario.”
Shafer used charts to explain that while propofol can stop  a person from breathing, the heart continues beating for 10  minutes and circulates blood.
Even if Jackson injected himself with the large dose of 100  milligrams of propofol six times, and stopped breathing with  the last shot, his heart would still beat long enough to lower  the propofol concentration below the level found in the  bloodstream at autopsy, Shafer said.
ONLY 25 MILLIGRAMS?
Murray told police that he gave Jackson only 25 milligrams  of propofol and two, 2 milligram injections of lorazepam on  June 25, 2009, the day the pop star died.
But prosecutors have argued he gave Jackson a higher amount  of lorazepam and followed up his initial injection of propofol  with a continuous intravenous drip of that drug.
Medical examiners found that propofol was the main cause of  Jackson’s death, and the sedative lorazepam played a  contributing role.
Murray’s defense attorneys, in addition to suggesting  Jackson “self-administered” more propofol, have argued the  singer could have swallowed more lorazepam than the 4  milligrams that Murray said he gave as a sleep aid.
But Shafer today also criticized that theory. He said  the amount of actual lorazepam found in Jackson’s stomach — as  opposed to the harmless, metabolized form of the drug — was  minuscule.
“The results … prove that Michael Jackson did not swallow  lorazepam,” Shafer said.
He later explained his modeling only ruled out Jackson  popping lorazepam pills up to four hours before his death.
At the same time, Shafer said, the amount of lorazepam  found in Jackson’s blood was too high to be explained by two, 2  milligram injections of the drug. So Murray may have given the  singer additional injections, Shafer said.
Shafer also said numerous studies show propofol is not  fatal when swallowed, undercutting a former, controversial  defense theory that Jackson guzzled the drug by himself.
The defense is expected to cross examine Shafer later today and begin presenting its case on Friday. Murray, who  has pleaded not guilty, faces a maximum sentence of four years  in prison if convicted.