Vinnie Politan: Conrad's Big 5 Lies

There are some glaring differences between the Conrad Murray case and the Casey Anthony trial. These are two very different situations, on many levels: Manslaughter versus murder. Celebrity versus civilian. L.A. versus Orlando. But there is a significant similarity: Both defendants appear to have a difficult time telling the truth. They lie! I do not have enough space here to track Casey Anthony's lies, so let's focus on Dr. Propofol. Here are what I see so far as the Big Five Lies: 1. Dr. Murray said he needed a CPR machine because Michael Jackson was 50 years old and engaging in a very strenuous performance schedule. The truth? He knew he needed it because he was using propofol in a dangerous setting. 2. Dr. Murray tells an arriving paramedic that "it just happened" when describing Michael Jackson's condition. The truth? Jackson was cold to the touch and Dr. Murray had discovered Jackson more than a half hour before paramedics arrived. 3. Dr. Murray tells a paramedic that he was treating Jackson for exhaustion and dehydration. The truth? He was knocking him out at night with propofol. 4. Murray tells the paramedic he gave Jackson just a little lorazepam. The truth? He gave him propofol. 5. After Jackson is brought to the hospital DOA, Murray says he wants to return to Jackson's house to get some cream Jackson would not want the world to know about. The truth? He wanted to return to the scene to clean up some potential evidence. The jury from Orlando is on the record as saying that they did not consider Casey's lies as evidence of anything–a big reason for the big “not guilty” verdict. I hope this jury has a different take and does consider the lies when trying to figure out what happened. People lie for different reasons and one of those reasons is to cover up criminal conduct. That is something every jury should at least consider when coming to a verdict. There should be no benefit derived to any defendant as a result of his or her own lies. That's what happened in Orlando...we'll see what happens in L.A.