A videotape of a bedridden cancer patient imploring Dr. Jack Kevorkian to help him commit suicide should be enough for a judge to dismiss a felony charge against him, Kevorkian's lawyer says.
Wayne County Circuit Judge Richard Kaufman ruled Monday that people suffering from illnesses from which they are unlikely to recover have the right to kill themselves. But he also said the decision to die must be made rationally and without undue influence."It is hard to imagine a state action that would have a greater intrusive effect upon a person's quest to make personal decisions based upon their personal moral beliefs than the state's blanket proscription of assistance of rational suicide," Kaufman ruled in the case of Donald O'Keefe, 73, a bone-cancer patient who died in Kevorkian's presence and with his counseling.
Under Kaufman's ruling, if Kevorkian can show that O'Keefe met the conditions he outlined, the charge of assisting a suicide could be dismissed. A hearing was set for Tuesday.
Kevorkian's lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger, said he would show Kaufman an 18-minute videotape of O'Keefe to persuade the judge to dismiss the charge.
On the tape, O'Keefe - covered by a crocheted afghan with his wife and Kevorkian at his side - said, "I want to stop the pain, I want to stop the suffering." He also signed a consent form seeking death by carbon monoxide poisoning. Fieger gave reporters copies of the tape last week.
Also Tuesday, a Oakland County judge decided there is enough evidence to try Kevorkian on charges he helped a 72-year-old Michigan woman commit suicide.
Judge Daniel Sawicki, who rejected constitutional arguments, found there is enough evidence to try Kevorkian in the Oct. 22 death of Merian Frederick of Ann Arbor, a victim of Lou Gehrig's disease who inhaled a lethal dose of carbon monoxide at Kevorkian's Royal Oak apartment.
Sawicki also refused to reduce the $50,000 cash bond he imposed at Kevorkian's arraignment.
Kevorkian has also been charged in Wayne County in the death of Thomas Hyde, 30, who had Lou Gehrig's disease. That trial is set for Feb. 15.