.gif)
Michael Jackson's doctor is preparing to surrender to prosecutors, his lawyer said Thursday, as speculation grew that the physician will be charged with manslaughter over the pop star's death.
"We are presently negotiating with the District Attorney's office the surrender of Dr (Conrad) Murray," lawyer Ed Chernoff said in a statement.
"The specifics have not yet been agreed to and when the agreement is complete we will report further ..."
The TMZ.com entertainment website -- which broke the news of Jackson's death in June last year -- reported that Murray would be arraigned and charged with involuntary manslaughter on Friday.
The website, citing law enforcement sources, said Murray would turn himself into the Los Angeles Police Department on Friday before being taken to appear in court at 1:30 pm (2130 GMT) local time.
The report follows intense speculation that Murray is to finally be charged following a painstaking seven-month investigation.
The Los Angeles District Attorney's office had repeatedly refused to confirm or deny reports it was preparing to file charges against Murray after the Houston-based doctor arrived in California this week to meet lawyers.
Under California law, involuntary manslaughter -- unintentionally causing death through negligence, carelessness, or a misdemeanor -- is punishable by up to four years in prison.
Brian Oxman, a lawyer for Jackson's family, said Wednesday reports Murray would face an involuntary manslaughter charge were "staggering."
"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 this medications."
Murray, 56, has acknowledged that he administered the powerful anesthetic propofol to Jackson only after trying many other medications to help him sleep after the singer's "repeated demands/requests" for the drug.
Jackson then went into cardiac arrest within 20 minutes of that injection, while Murray had stepped out for a bathroom break, the doctor told authorities in an interview a few days after the death.
According to court documents, Murray told police he did not call for help until 12:22 pm, more than an hour after he realized Jackson wasn't breathing. Murray has since denied making those remarks to police.
Jackson family lawyer Oxman said, however, that Murray's conduct was worthy of more serious charges.
"It rose to the level of such recklessness that you would say that this was a second degree murder charge because they knew what they were doing, it was utterly reckless," Oxman said.
"It's like shooting into a moving train. You take the risk of death there, which is so high, they call that murder."
Propofol is a powerful anesthetic 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 which included a review of toxicology results found that Jackson died because of "lethal levels of propofol."
The circumstances surrounding Jackson's demise have renewed attention to the issue of prescription drug abuse by celebrities, which was also blamed for the 2007 death of former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith.
Smith's boyfriend and two doctors are currently facing trial in California, accused of conspiring to provide the sex symbol with prescription drugs.
