Dr. Conrad Murray -- I Didn't Kill Michael Jackson, Stress Did

Dr. Conrad Murray just filed legal docs in which he claims his manslaughter conviction should be overturned, on grounds that the judge should have allowed him to prove ... Michael Jackson was so stressed out over his financial woes ... he recklessly rolled the dice by self-administering a fatal dose of Propofol.

Murray is responding to the D.A.'s claims that he should stay in jail pending appeal because the grounds for challenging the conviction are bogus.

Murray makes a number of arguments, but the most interesting is the section titled, "Financial Condition of Michael Jackson." Murray's lawyers put it this way: "Mr. Jackson was in debt approximately $440 million and desperately needed to fulfill a contractual commitment at the O2 arena in London."

The lawyers go on: "He was on the verge of losing his entire estate to foreclosure. The pressure to fight through his insomnia, to rehearse and be the entertainer he was in his earlier years was overwhelming."

And then the lawyers bring it home: "His motivation and resulting desperation were relevant to show a likelihood or reason to act in a manner inconsistent with good judgment."