People v. Kevorkian

205 Mich App. 180 (1994)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Kevorkian (D) assisted in the suicide of Sherry Miller and Majorie Wantz before the Michigan Assisted Suicide law was enacted. Each of the victims was suffering from conditions that were severely disabling, and each separately sought the assistance of D in ending their lives. D tried to have Miller use a suicide machine, but D could not insert the needle into her arm. D returned several hours later with carbon monoxide gas and a mask apparatus. All Miller had to do was to turn the screwdriver handle on the valve, and she would eventually die from carbon monoxide poisoning. Both Miller (with the carbon monoxide device) and Wantz (with the potassium chloride device) were successful in their use of the suicide equipment. In both instances, the final acts that caused death were done by the victims. However, the state of the victims was such that they needed significant help from D in setting up the death machines. In Wantz, she was hooked up to a machine to dispense the chemicals that would end her life by simply using strings attached to her fingers. Wantz did release the drugs into her system, and she died from a lethal overdose. D was charged with two counts of murder. D filed a motion to quash the murder charges. The Circuit court dismissed the murder charges against D, and the State appealed. The court reasoned that since suicide was not a crime, assisting suicide would not be a crime as well.