Conrad Murray Ignites War with Katherine Jackson Over Michael Jackson Comments

Katherine Jackson's lawyers think Conrad Murray is a coward who is trashing the man he killed for profit.

One of Katherine's lawyers tells TMZ, "Murray has refused to go under the OATH KNIFE and his attempt to exploit Michael are despicable and disgusting." Translation: He took the 5th because he's guilty as sin and now he's selling sordid stories about MJ to line his pockets.

Another lawyer sent Murray's attorney a scathing email, calling the doc "reprehensible."

But Murray's lawyer, Valerie Wass, quickly went on the counterattack, saying, "You and members of your client's family have been bad-mouthing my client for a long time. I don't blame him for talking, especially after ... you tried to portray him as an awful person."