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LOS ANGELES: Michael Jackson's doctor was charged with involuntary manslaughter on Monday ahead of a long-awaited court hearing where he is expected to deny causing the pop icon's death.
A statement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office - which had already confirmed criminal charges would be issued against Conrad Murray - set out the allegations against the 56-year-old physician.
The statement alleged Houston-based Murray "did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Michael Joseph Jackson."
Murray, who could face up to four years in prison if convicted, is expected to plead not guilty when he appears at Los Angeles Airport Court House for arraignment later Monday.
Shortly after the charges were announced, members of Jackson's family, including parents Katherine and Joe and siblings Tito and LaToya arrived at the court where a horde of media had gathered.
Fans of Jackson had also gathered outside the court, brandishing banners which read: "The World Wants Justice for Michael" and "Justice for Michael Jackson," an AFP reporter witnessed.
Murray, who treated Jackson shortly before the pop icon died suddenly at his rented Los Angeles mansion last June, had initially been expected to surrender to authorities on Friday ahead of a court hearing.
However charges were delayed amid reports of a disagreement between prosecutors and the Los Angeles Police Department over the manner in which Murray was to be brought to court.
Prosecutors had been negotiating with defence lawyers for Murray to surrender voluntarily, before appearing in court without handcuffs or shackles.
Police were reportedly opposed to the plan, seeking to have Murray arrested, booked and handcuffed in plain view. The TMZ.com website reported that the physician would not be handcuffed for Monday's hearing.
The manslaughter case against Murray was built during a painstaking police investigation which saw raids on the doctor's offices in Houston and Las Vegas.
Murray has acknowledged that he administered the powerful anaesthetic propofol to Jackson only after trying many other medications to help him sleep following the singer's "repeated demands/requests" for the drug.
Propofol is a powerful anaesthetic used to render patients unconscious before major surgery. Medical experts say it should only be used and administered by trained staff under hospital conditions.
Unsealed court documents that included a review of toxicology results found that Jackson died from "lethal levels of propofol."
Brian Oxman, a lawyer for Jackson's family, last week criticised reports of involuntary manslaughter charge, saying it amounted to a "slap on the wrist.
"I don't think it would satisfy anybody, the millions of fans around the world," Oxman told CBS television.
"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 to his death by the use of these medications." - AFP/de
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