LOS ANGELES — The doctor convicted of killing Michael Jackson was released from jail today after serving nearly two years of a four-year sentence.

Conrad Murray was released from a downtown Los Angeles jail at 12:01 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office. A change in California law allowed his incarceration time to be significantly cut down.

The former cardiologist was convicted in 2011 of causing Jackson’s death in June 2009 by providing the superstar with an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid.

Murray’s prospects are uncertain: At age 60 his license to practice medicine has been suspended or revoked in three states and his face and name are well known due to his association with Jackson and his highly publicized involuntary manslaughter trial.

The former doctor is appealing his conviction, although an appeals court has questioned whether it needs to hear the case. His attorney Valerie Wass has argued that the court shouldn’t dismiss the appeal because it could alter his overall sentence and reduce some of the stigma his conviction has caused.