Michael Jackson Doctor May Get House Arrest (Top 11 of 11)

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.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... involuntary manslaughter is a non-violent felony, which means if Murray is convicted he'd go to L.A. County Jail.

As for how much time Murray would serve ... L.A. County Sheriff's officials tell TMZ ... Murray would be jailed for half the actual sentence. So if he gets the max -- 4 years -- he would only serve 2.

But there's a twist ... Murray could actually 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 to the gills, the Sheriff could put him on house arrest with an electronic monitoring bracelet. But one official from the Sheriff's Department told us ... 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. - more on this story

This Thanksgiving weekend we are looking back at the top 11 Day in Pop stories for each month of 2011. See the other Top 11 of 11 stories here

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