Dr. Conrad Murray Could End Up On House Arrest If He's Convicted

If Dr. Conrad Murray is found guilty of felony involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to the maximum -- 4 years in state prison -- he will NOT spend a single day in prison. He could end up on house arrest.

A new law went into effect in California on October 1, which says, because of overcrowding, people convicted of non-violent felonies cannot be sent to State prison. Instead, non-violent felons serve their time in county jail.

Involuntary manslaughter is a non-violent felony, which means if Murray is convicted he'd go to L.A. County Jail. Murray would most likely be jailed for half the actual sentence. So if he gets the max -- which is 4 years -- he would only serve 2. 

Here is the twist -- Murray could serve way less than 2 years. Because of severe overcrowding, inmates are eligible for house arrest, based on 2 factors -- their prior criminal history, and risk to the community. Murray has a clean record and, as one law enforcement official put it, he poses no risk.... it's not like he's going to go out with a bottle of Propofol and kill people.

So if the jail is filled up, Sheriff's could put him on house arrest with an electronic monitoring bracelet. An official from the Sheriff's Department says Murray wouldn't be placed on house arrest right out of the box. He would almost certainly do some time before the jailhouse doors would open.