With the conviction of Conrad Murray - the doctor found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by administering a lethal dose of anaesthetic to the pop icon - there is an official scapegoat and the finger-pointing can now end.

We found the culprit. It was Michael's corrupt physician who would do anything to remain in the orbit of the superstar and receive his monthly retainer of $150,000.

Murray was even prepared to become Michael's pusher.

Now he has been justly punished and we can put the matter to rest. Rest in peace, Michael. Your killer has been identified and sent to jail.

If only.

For years, a group that surrounded Michael watched as his life deteriorated but did nothing for fear that if they opened their mouths they would be out.

The publicists he paid, the managers who took their percentages and the handlers who got their cuts all watched as he dangled a baby from a balcony, proclaimed his pride in sharing a bed with a child on international TV and slowly went bankrupt as he squandered his fortune on garbage purchases. And they did nothing.

Michael's addiction to prescription medication was well-known, yet few cared enough to get him the help he needed.

Worse, Michael was lethargic, uninspired and required serious counselling to get his life in order. The response of those around him, however, was to talk him into 50 concerts in London - a staggering feat for even the most well-balanced performer - in order to take their share.

Whatever the consequences, the troubled golden goose had to continue to lay some golden eggs.

So much of it came out in the trial. There was the testimony from concert director Kenny Ortega, who said: "My friend wasn't right. There was something going on that was deeply troubling me. He was chilled. He appeared lost.

"Just sort of lost and a little incoherent and although we were conversing and I did ask him a question and he did answer me, I did feel though that he was not well at all."

Ortega went so far as to email Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) chief executive Randy Phillips to tell him that Michael was seriously unwell.

"My concern is, now that we brought the doctor into the fold and had played the 'Tough Love, Now or Never' card, is that the artist may be unable to rise to the occasion due to real, emotional stuff. He appeared quite weak and fatigued this evening. He had a terrible case of the chills, was trembling, rambling and obsessing.

"Everything in me says he should be psychologically evaluated. If we have any chance at all to get him back in the light, it's going to take a strong therapist to help him through this as well as immediate physical nurturing."

But if Ortega felt this way, why was he prepared to proceed with the concerts? Why didn't he resign and declare that he would not contribute to Michael's continued decline?

The role of AEG has similarly escaped serious evaluation. If the director you've hired is warning you that the artist you've contracted to do 50 concerts is in psychological turmoil, shouldn't you cancel or at least postpone the concerts? Why were the concerts not cancelled or postponed?

Was profit a factor in the decision to proceed, regardless of Michael's psychological state? To be sure, Michael was an adult and bears responsibility for his actions.

But if he was not prepared to heal himself, then it was the responsibility of all those who benefited from being in his orbit to get him the help he needed and, if the effort failed, at the very least not contribute further to his self-destruction.

Is the doctor who gave Michael propofol the only culprit in his demise? What about the doctors who continued to give him plastic surgery, to the point that his body was falling apart?

Even if that's not illegal, should they at least not be ashamed of themselves?

It was the tragedy of Michael Jackson to have been so successful as to become an industry that supported so many people, to the extent that they were prepared to look the other way as his life slowly sank into the abyss.

In the final analysis, Conrad Murray was the person most responsible for Michael's death. But a host of others played a significant role as well.

They ought to thank their lucky stars that the sins of the many have fallen on the shoulders of one.