Kevorkian Turned Down Again for Early Release

Bioethics   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Oct 2, 2003   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Kevorkian Turned Down Again for Early Release

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 2, 2003

Lapeer, MI (LifeNews.com) — Assisted suicide crusader Jack Kevorkian has again been denied a chance for early release from prison.

Kevorkian was convicted in 1999 of second-degree murder for killing a man with Lou Gehrig’s disease and sentenced for 10 to 25 years in prison. He is not eligible for parole until 2007.

He was convicted of killing Thomas Youk, a Detroit-area man whose death was shown on the television show "60 Minutes." Kevorkian argued the murder was a mercy killing, but appeals of his conviction were denied.

"Jack Kevorkian thumbed his nose at the legal system so many times, it isn’t surprising that the courts are not now willing to give him another chance to do so," Tom Marzen, a pro-life attorney who specializes in end-of-life issues, told LifeNews.com.

Though he has lost on the state level, Kevorkian’s attorneys are continuing the appeal on the federal level.

"We’re going to appeal to the federal Sixth Circuit (U.S. Court of Appeals)," said Kevorkian’s attorney, Mayer Morganroth. "We also have a motion before Judge (Rae Lee) Chabot in Oakland Circuit Court … to resentence him to time served so he can be released."

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds denied the petition for Kevorkian’s release. Morganroth plans to appeal her decision.

Morganroth also said Kevorkian, who is 75, suffers from a number of medical problems and should be released because of those as well.

Kevorkian claims to have assisted the deaths of more than 130 people and Michigan, in 1998, adopted a law banning assisted suicide in part to stop him.