Lawyers for Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray have asked a judge to hand the medic probation when he is sentenced next week (beg28Nov11), while prosecutors want jail time and a $100 million (£62.5 million) pay out to the star's children.
The physician was convicted of involuntary manslaughter earlier this month (Nov11) for administering the dose of powerful drug propofol which killed the King of Pop in 2009.
Murray's lawyers have now written to the judge in charge of the case, Michael Pastor, urging him to give the shamed doctor probation instead of jail time, insisting Jackson's death is "an atypical and isolated aberration to an otherwise exceptional medical career".
Attorney Nareg Gourjian writes, "Dr. Murray's life will never be the same. He will forever be stigmatised as the doctor responsible for the death of Michael Jackson."
The request for probation was accompanied by 34 letters of support from the doctor's relatives, patients and friends, including a note from his mother, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Prosecutors have urged the judge to hand Murray the maximum sentence of fours years in prison, and they have also asked for the doctor to be ordered to pay the late singer's three children $100 million (£62.5 million) for their loss.
They argue the star would have earned the money from his comeback concerts, and they have also asked for $1.8 million (£1.1 million) to cover funeral costs.