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Michael Jackson's Doctor Released From Jail

Michael Jackson's Doctor Released From Jail

Conrad Murray has been released from jail two years after being convicted of causing Michael Jackson's death.

The doctor, 60, left a jail in central Los Angeles shortly after midnight local time, the sheriff's office said.

"He was elated to be out of there," Murray's lawyer Valerie Wass said.

Ms Wass said he plans to spend time with his girlfriend and children and to readjust to life outside prison.

Murray was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter in respect of 50-year-old Jackson's death in June 2009.

The pop superstar died after receiving a lethal dose of the anaesthetic Propofol, which Murray was giving him as a sleeping aid.

Murray was given a four-year sentence, but a change in California law to ease chronic overcrowding in the state's jails allowed him to be freed early.

Murray's medical licences have been suspended or revoked in three states where he had previously practised medicine.

It has been reported he is seeking to hire a publicist and also have his medical licences reinstated.

News of his release is likely to upset Jackson's family and the star's multitude of fans around the world. Some of them waited at the prison but the doctor managed to elude them.

Sky News US Correspondent Greg Milam said: "The prospect of him practising again is one of the things that has really annoyed those very devoted Michael Jackson fans.

"They were there last night in the hope of getting a glimpse of him to make their feelings known."

Murray has denied he was responsible for Jackson's death, saying he was trying to wean the singer off Propofol.

He is currently appealing his conviction and has apparently received numerous big-money offers for the first TV interview after his release.

Last month the jury in a civil court case ruled Murray had not been unfit to look after Jackson.

The jury dismissed a claim by the Jackson family that the concert promoter AEG was negligent in hiring him.