Jack Kevorkian, who claims to have helped kill 130 people via assisted suicide, will walk out of a Michigan prison Friday — one week before a planned California vote on whether to join Oregon in allowing assisted suicide for the terminally ill.
Kevorkian, 79, was convicted of second-degree murder in 1998 and sentenced to 10 to 25 years for the death of Thomas Youk, which was shown on CBS News. He was granted parole in December 2006, after promising to not assist in any more suicides.
"At this point, it's hard to tell what his release is going to do to the debate," said Stephen Drake, research analyst at Not Dead Yet, a national disability rights group that opposes assisted suicide and worked to put Kevorkian in jail. "Quite frankly, some of the pro-assisted suicide groups are nervous about his release.
"I think the activity you're going to see from him is on the speaking circuit," Drake said. "A lot is going to depend on what the press does."
According to media reports, terms of Kevorkian's two-year probation prevent him from providing care for anyone older than 62 or who is disabled. He can't be present when a person commits suicide or is euthanized, and he cannot counsel people on how to commit suicide.
He has said he will continue to lobby for the legalization of assisted suicide, but has no desire to go back to jail.
"It's got to be legalized. That's the point," Kevorkian recently told Fox2 News in Detroit. "I'll work to have it legalized, but I sure won't break any laws."
Kevorkian has battled hepatitis C, and for years it has been rumored that he is dying.
"Every year, he (Kevorkian's lawyer) would say, 'This guy is dying,' " Drake said. "If it wasn't true four years ago, it's highly suspect now. He's certainly not talking like he's expecting to die soon."
Rita Marker, executive director of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, said she thinks he'll be back on the job soon.
"He has said, over and over and over again, after each of the others, that he wouldn't do it again," she told Family News in Focus. "After the two years (of probation), he would do it.
"We've been lulled … by the benign soft tones that have been used. He's going to be again the noisy Jack Kevorkian. This will help people to get the right perspective."
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics for Focus on the Family Action, said: "Kevorkian thumbed his nose at Michigan law on this issue for years until directly killing a man put him behind bars. Hopefully some time in prison has tempered him, and he'll respect the law this time around."
Next week, California lawmakers will vote on the issue.
"California residents should make sure their state legislators know that true compassion doesn't come in a lethal overdose or injection," Earll said. "That's a cheap substitute for providing good end-of-life care."
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