Conrad Murray, the doctor convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson, has been sentenced to four years jail.
The sentence was the maximum applicable for the crime of manslaughter. Murray will also lose his medical license.
The judge Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor in sentencing said: "Doctor Murray abandoned his patient who was trusting him."
Murray was found guilty of manslaughter earlier this month after a six-week trial, but was not sentenced until today.
Murray treated the superstar with an operating-room anaesthetic as he battled chronic insomnia.
The expressionless Murray, 58, faced Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor while the judge declared him unfit for probation, citing Murray's involvement in what the judge called a "cycle of horrible medicine."
"He has absolutely no sense of remorse," Pastor said. "[Murray] is and remains dangerous. ... I think Dr. Murray is so reckless that I believe he is a danger to the community."
"Some may feel this was a medical malpractice case. It wasn't. It was and is a criminal homicide case," Pastor said. "Michael Jackson died not because of an isolated, one-off occurrence or incident. He died because of a totality of circumstances which are directly attributable to Dr. Murray."
Jackson family spokesman Brian Panish delivered a statement on behalf of the family saying: "As his brothers and sisters we will never be able to hold, laugh or perform with our brother Michael. As his children we will grow up without a father, our best friend, our playmate and our dad. We are not here to seek revenge. There is nothing you can do today that will bring Michael back. But we will keep the love in our hearts that Michael embodied throughout his life. His passion was for unifying the world through the gift of his artistry. We respectfully request that you impose a sentence that reminds physicians that they cannot sell their services to the highest bidder and cast aside their Hippocratic Oath to do no harm. As we all know from this tragedy doing so can have devastating results."