Jack Kevorkian Denied Appeal for New Trial in Euthanasia Death
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 23, 2004
Detroit, MI (LifeNews.com) — Assisted suicide crusader Jack Kevorkian has been denied a new trial concerning his conviction in the 1999 euthanasia death of a man that was shown on national television.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tendered a one page decision on Tuesday that upheld a ruling last November by U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds denying Kevorkian’s request for a new trial.
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.
Mayer Morganroth, Kevorkian’s attorney, told the Associated Press that he plans to appeal the court’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"If it wasn’t Kevorkian’s name on the case, there would have been a different decision," Morganroth claimed.
Tom Marzen, a pro-life attorney who specializes in end-of-life issues, countered Morganroth’s contention.
"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," Marzen told LifeNews.com.
Kevorkian 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.
Though he has lost on the state level, Kevorkian’s attorneys are continuing the appeal on the federal level.
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.
