Saturday, June 02, 2007

Kevorkian freed from prison - His views haven't changed, aide says

Kevorkian freed from prison - His views haven't changed, aide says
By Kathy Barks Hoffman
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune and The Associated Press
Published June 2, 2007

COLDWATER, Mich. -- Jack Kevorkian had few words but a broad smile as he walked out of prison Friday, ending eight years behind bars for helping end the life of a man suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease.

The retired pathologist known as "Dr. Death" said his release felt "wonderful -- one of the high points in life" as he paused near a van waiting to drive him to the home of friends in suburban Detroit.

Outside a gift shop across from the 25-acre prison grounds, about a dozen people stood in a show of support. The group held signs bearing such phrases as "Jack, we're glad you're out of the box" and "Dr. K is on his way!"

The attention focused on a man who claimed participation in at least 130 assisted suicides brought a rebuke from the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit.

"For 10 years, Jack Kevorkian's actions resembled those of a pathological serial killer. It will be truly regrettable if he's now treated as a celebrity parolee instead of the convicted murderer he is," archdiocese spokesman Ned McGrath said in a statement.

Kevorkian, 79, spoke only a few words to reporters after leaving the prison with his lawyers and legal assistants.

As he got ready for the ride home, "60 Minutes" correspondent Mike Wallace, 89, got out of the van and embraced him, asking, "What do you say, young man?" Kevorkian is to appear in a "60 Minutes" segment Sunday.

Inmates at the Lakeland Correctional Facility, about 100 miles southwest of Detroit, had been waiting for a glimpse of Kevorkian, while reporters greeted him on the outside with questions.

Attorney Mayer Morganroth said his client planned a news conference on Tuesday.

"He thanks everybody for coming. He thanks the thousands who have supported him, have written to him," Morganroth said. "He just wants a little privacy for the next few days."

Throughout the 1990s, Kevorkian challenged authorities to make his actions legal -- or try to stop him. He burned state orders against him and showed up at court in costume.

"You think I'm going to obey the law? You're crazy," he said in 1998 shortly before he was accused -- then convicted -- of murder after injecting lethal drugs into Thomas Youk, 52, a suburban Detroit man suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease.

Kevorkian videotaped that death and sent the footage to "60 Minutes," which aired it. He challenged prosecutors to charge him.

He was convicted and given a 10- to 25-year sentence for second-degree murder. He earned time off his sentence for good behavior.

Kevorkian is expected to move to Bloomfield Hills, just outside Detroit, where he will live with friends and resume the artistic and musical hobbies he missed while in prison. His lawyer and friends have said he plans to live on a small pension and Social Security while doing some writing and speaking.

Kevorkian has promised never to help in another assisted suicide. But Ruth Holmes, who has worked as his legal assistant and handled his correspondence while he was in prison, said his views on the subject have not changed.

"This should be a matter that is handled as a fundamental human right that is between the patient, the doctor, his family and his God," Holmes said of Kevorkian's beliefs.

One of the conditions of his parole is that Kevorkian cannot help anyone else die. He's also forbidden to provide care for anyone who is older than 62 or disabled. He could go back to prison if he violates his parole.

Kevorkian must report regularly to a parole officer and cannot leave the state without permission. He can speak about assisted suicide, but can't put out anything that shows how to make a device like the machine he devised to give lethal drugs, according to his parole order.

Kevorkian has a variety of ailments including diabetes, hepatitis C, high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries in his brain.

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