The man serving time for the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson is speaking out. In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Dr. Conrad Murray said that he is an innocent man.
In his first interview since being sent behind bars, Murray claimed he tried to wean Jackson off the prescription drugs that eventually killed him. He said the last time he saw Michael, he was sleeping comfortably and was not in any danger. The interview was done with Murray on the phone from the Los Angeles County Jail.

Murray said he will not testify in the wrongful death lawsuit that the Jackson family is bringing against AEG Live. Murray is serving four years for involuntary manslaughter. In 2011, prosecutors successfully argued at trial that the cardiologist kept Jackson medicated with powerful drugs not usually used outside of a hospital setting.

Media outlets like CNN and NBC are pleading with a judge to allow them to broadcast live coverage of the trial proceedings involving the Jackson family’s wrongful death lawsuit against concert promoters AEG Live. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos accepted the request for her to reconsider her previous denial of such coverage. Attorneys for AEG Live say TV coverage could interfere with their right to a fair trial. They are also asking Judge Palazuelos to consider issuing a gag order to prevent lawyers on both sides from commenting to the media during the trial. The requests come on the first day of jury selection for the trial. Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson and the singer’s three children, claim AEG Live was negligent in hiring Dr. Conrad Murray to be Michael’s personal physician as he prepared for series of comeback concerts in 2009. Jackson died of an overdose of sedatives before the concert launch. Murray was convicted in 2011 for involuntary manslaughter and is serving four years in a Los Angeles jail.