Kevorkian released from prison after 8 years

LANSING, Mich. - Jack Kevorkian, the retired pathologist dubbed “Dr. Death” after claiming he had participated in at least 130 assisted suicides, left prison after eight years Friday still believing people have the right to die.

A smiling Kevorkian, now 79, said it was “one of the high points in life” as he walked out with his attorney.

Mike Wallace, the correspondent for “60 Minutes,” whose airing of a Kevorkian-aided suicide led to the charges and his prison term, met Kevorkian outside with an embrace and the words, “Hello, young man.” Kevorkian is to appear in a “60 Minutes” segment on Sunday.

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 and the enormous amount of people who have really been comfortable in supporting him,” Morganroth said. “He just wants a little privacy for the next few days.”

About a dozen of his supporters lined a road to the prison under gray skies, holding hand-lettered signs, including, “Jack, Glad You’re Back” and “Jack, We’re Glad You’re Out of the Box.”

“This is something that I feel strongly about,” said Pam Hawley, 52, a Florida resident visiting Michigan who organized the show of support.

Time off for good behavior
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.

Carlos Osorio / AP Dr. Jack Kevorkian, surrounded by Terrence Youk, far left, Ruth Holmes, left rear, and Sarah Holmes listen to attorney Lisa Dwyer, right, during the retired pathologist's murder trial in Pontiac, Mich., March 26, 1999. For Youk, Dr. Jack Kevorkian's release from prison on Friday is a relief. He was grateful when Kevorkian helped his brother, Thomas Youk, end his life in 1998.

“You think I’m going to obey the law? You’re crazy,” he said in 1998 shortly before he was accused — and then convicted — of murder after injecting lethal drugs into Thomas Youk, 52, an Oakland County man suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease.

That conviction earned Kevorkian a 10- to 25-year sentence for second-degree murder, but he earned time off his sentence for good behavior.

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

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 haven’t 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.

In a recent interview, Kevorkian also made it clear that his support for letting people decide when they want to die hasn’t wavered.

“It’s got to be legalized. That’s the point,” he told WJBK-TV in Detroit. “I’ll work to have it legalized. But I won’t break any laws doing it.”

The Michigan Catholic Conference says it will oppose any effort to renew the push for assisted suicide in Michigan.

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