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American Morning

Should Dr. Kevorkian be Freed From Prison?

Aired October 08, 2003 - 08:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Should Dr. Jack Kevorkian, with proponent of assisted suicide, be freed from prison? His attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, plans to argue for that in court today. Kevorkian is serving 10 to 25 years for murder in the death of Thomas Youk, who suffered from the incurable Lou Gehrig's Disease. And Youk was videotaped receiving a lethal dose of potassium chloride from Dr. Kevorkian. Kevorkian said it was a mercy killing.
Well, Kevorkian's latest appeal last week was rejected, but Fieger says prison is literally killing the 75-year-old.

And Geoffrey Fieger joins us from Southfield, Michigan this morning.

Geoffrey, good morning and thanks for joining us.

GEOFFREY FIEGER, ATTORNEY FOR JACK KEVORKIAN: Thanks, Soledad.

How are you?

O'BRIEN: I'm well, thank you.

People will say Dr. Kevorkian is serving 10 to 25 years. If he's ill, that's just too bad. That shouldn't be grounds for getting out of prison.

Why would you argue against that?

FIEGER: Because he's a political prisoner. He committed no crime whatsoever. He is in prison because some people in the State of Michigan and this country believe it's either a sin or a crime. He's no more guilty than any hospice physician who provides morphine, which ends up being a fatal dose. The State of Oregon permits physician assisted suicide. Many countries in Europe permit it. And long after all of us are gone, his antagonists are gone, he will be remembered. And if he dies in prison, history will look upon us very, very unfavorably.

O'BRIEN: The courts, obviously, when they sentenced him to 10 to 25 years, they disagreed there. Why not petition the medical parole board? Why go about it this way? Isn't that the right step to take, the medical parole board?

FIEGER: No, it's too long. And, again, he's a political prisoner and courts are political functionaries, more, increasingly more so in this country. We've had courts uphold, for instance, the "Dred Scott" decision holding that African-Americans weren't human beings.

So the fact that in any particular time a court does one thing or another reflects more political animus than it does enlightenment and usually the courts are behind.

Here we've got to alert people that this man has been rotting, being tortured in Michigan prisons. And Michigan prisons are very, very bad places for the last five years.

O'BRIEN: Give...

FIEGER: Something needs to be done. He doesn't need to die in prison, Soledad. And I can assure you, unless we get him out, Jack Kevorkian will be coming out dead. And anybody who says they don't care about it, that's reflective of how much they really care about human beings.

O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of his medical picture. You say he is close to death. What exactly is wrong with him at...

FIEGER: Well, he's walking around. But, look, I saw him on Sunday. In a sunroom we met, a very warm room, I thought. Jack Kevorkian was curled up in a corner trying to get sunlight in long john pajamas underneath his prison garb and he looked like a 150-year- old man. Jack has cardiovascular problems. Jack has fainted. He was taken to the hospital last week. He's broken two ribs.

When they transport him, they transport him in chains. The indignity of a man who's been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, who's written extensively and who's recognized throughout the world as a humanitarian being treated in this fashion is abominable.

And remember, this is political. This is based upon people's belief that other people don't have the right to control how much they suffer before they die and that people don't have the same right as animals not to suffer when they're dying.

O'BRIEN: Geoffrey, the prosecution obviously disagrees with you heartily.

And we want to turn now to the prosecution.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Skrzynski joins us this morning.

You've heard what Geoffrey Fieger has to say. I know you disagree.

But answer some of his concerns.

JOHN SKRZYNSKI, ASSISTANT PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: Well, for one thing, he has to remember that Jack Kevorkian is no longer in the court system, he's in the prison system. And the law provides for a method for a prisoner to petition to get out of prison if the person thinks that he's medically unsafe in the prison. He should apply to the parole board for a medical parole. That's the proper way to do it.

If he wants to be freed, then his remedy is to go to the governor and ask for that. He's going to the courts, I think the cameras are in the courts. That's what he'd like. This judge doesn't have the power to give him the remedy that he's asking for.

O'BRIEN: What about the...

SKRZYNSKI: The proper remedy is to go to the board of appeals.

O'BRIEN: Forgive me for interrupting you there, but what about the argument that this is a political case and going that route would not work?

SKRZYNSKI: Well, no, no, it's not a political case. A jury decided that this man committed a second degree murder. A jury decided that. He did this on television. He did it for the purpose of making a political statement. There was no question about the fact that he committed a murder. And it becomes a political case when he tries to take in into court where it doesn't belong, where he doesn't follow the system, where he doesn't follow the proper procedures, he makes it into a political case.

It's not a political case, it's a murder case.

O'BRIEN: Geoffrey, did the family of Dr. Kevorkian hire you?

FIEGER: No, in fact. Dr. Kevorkian and I, as you know, have been together for 15 years. I have represented him for the last five. John actually prosecuted the case against Dr. Kevorkian while he was representing himself.

But the family of Thomas Youk, who is the alleged victim, has written to the judge and has consistently stood up and said Dr. Kevorkian was a friend and a help to our family, he no more murdered Thomas Youk than the disease itself murdered him.

O'BRIEN: They said that in the trial, as well, and obviously a jury still found him guilty.

FIEGER: So...

O'BRIEN: So I guess my question is why bring this back into the court? The final word, to some degree, has been spoken.

FIEGER: Because juries often make mistakes and injustices occur as often in court as they do out of court. And in this case, this is an injustice that needs to be rectified by enlightened people.

O'BRIEN: That's going to be our final word this morning. Geoffrey Fieger.

FIEGER: Thanks, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: And, also, John Skrzynski, thanks for joining us this morning. Appreciate it, gentlemen.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired October 8, 2003 - 08:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Should Dr. Jack Kevorkian, with proponent of assisted suicide, be freed from prison? His attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, plans to argue for that in court today. Kevorkian is serving 10 to 25 years for murder in the death of Thomas Youk, who suffered from the incurable Lou Gehrig's Disease. And Youk was videotaped receiving a lethal dose of potassium chloride from Dr. Kevorkian. Kevorkian said it was a mercy killing.
Well, Kevorkian's latest appeal last week was rejected, but Fieger says prison is literally killing the 75-year-old.

And Geoffrey Fieger joins us from Southfield, Michigan this morning.

Geoffrey, good morning and thanks for joining us.

GEOFFREY FIEGER, ATTORNEY FOR JACK KEVORKIAN: Thanks, Soledad.

How are you?

O'BRIEN: I'm well, thank you.

People will say Dr. Kevorkian is serving 10 to 25 years. If he's ill, that's just too bad. That shouldn't be grounds for getting out of prison.

Why would you argue against that?

FIEGER: Because he's a political prisoner. He committed no crime whatsoever. He is in prison because some people in the State of Michigan and this country believe it's either a sin or a crime. He's no more guilty than any hospice physician who provides morphine, which ends up being a fatal dose. The State of Oregon permits physician assisted suicide. Many countries in Europe permit it. And long after all of us are gone, his antagonists are gone, he will be remembered. And if he dies in prison, history will look upon us very, very unfavorably.

O'BRIEN: The courts, obviously, when they sentenced him to 10 to 25 years, they disagreed there. Why not petition the medical parole board? Why go about it this way? Isn't that the right step to take, the medical parole board?

FIEGER: No, it's too long. And, again, he's a political prisoner and courts are political functionaries, more, increasingly more so in this country. We've had courts uphold, for instance, the "Dred Scott" decision holding that African-Americans weren't human beings.

So the fact that in any particular time a court does one thing or another reflects more political animus than it does enlightenment and usually the courts are behind.

Here we've got to alert people that this man has been rotting, being tortured in Michigan prisons. And Michigan prisons are very, very bad places for the last five years.

O'BRIEN: Give...

FIEGER: Something needs to be done. He doesn't need to die in prison, Soledad. And I can assure you, unless we get him out, Jack Kevorkian will be coming out dead. And anybody who says they don't care about it, that's reflective of how much they really care about human beings.

O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of his medical picture. You say he is close to death. What exactly is wrong with him at...

FIEGER: Well, he's walking around. But, look, I saw him on Sunday. In a sunroom we met, a very warm room, I thought. Jack Kevorkian was curled up in a corner trying to get sunlight in long john pajamas underneath his prison garb and he looked like a 150-year- old man. Jack has cardiovascular problems. Jack has fainted. He was taken to the hospital last week. He's broken two ribs.

When they transport him, they transport him in chains. The indignity of a man who's been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, who's written extensively and who's recognized throughout the world as a humanitarian being treated in this fashion is abominable.

And remember, this is political. This is based upon people's belief that other people don't have the right to control how much they suffer before they die and that people don't have the same right as animals not to suffer when they're dying.

O'BRIEN: Geoffrey, the prosecution obviously disagrees with you heartily.

And we want to turn now to the prosecution.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Skrzynski joins us this morning.

You've heard what Geoffrey Fieger has to say. I know you disagree.

But answer some of his concerns.

JOHN SKRZYNSKI, ASSISTANT PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: Well, for one thing, he has to remember that Jack Kevorkian is no longer in the court system, he's in the prison system. And the law provides for a method for a prisoner to petition to get out of prison if the person thinks that he's medically unsafe in the prison. He should apply to the parole board for a medical parole. That's the proper way to do it.

If he wants to be freed, then his remedy is to go to the governor and ask for that. He's going to the courts, I think the cameras are in the courts. That's what he'd like. This judge doesn't have the power to give him the remedy that he's asking for.

O'BRIEN: What about the...

SKRZYNSKI: The proper remedy is to go to the board of appeals.

O'BRIEN: Forgive me for interrupting you there, but what about the argument that this is a political case and going that route would not work?

SKRZYNSKI: Well, no, no, it's not a political case. A jury decided that this man committed a second degree murder. A jury decided that. He did this on television. He did it for the purpose of making a political statement. There was no question about the fact that he committed a murder. And it becomes a political case when he tries to take in into court where it doesn't belong, where he doesn't follow the system, where he doesn't follow the proper procedures, he makes it into a political case.

It's not a political case, it's a murder case.

O'BRIEN: Geoffrey, did the family of Dr. Kevorkian hire you?

FIEGER: No, in fact. Dr. Kevorkian and I, as you know, have been together for 15 years. I have represented him for the last five. John actually prosecuted the case against Dr. Kevorkian while he was representing himself.

But the family of Thomas Youk, who is the alleged victim, has written to the judge and has consistently stood up and said Dr. Kevorkian was a friend and a help to our family, he no more murdered Thomas Youk than the disease itself murdered him.

O'BRIEN: They said that in the trial, as well, and obviously a jury still found him guilty.

FIEGER: So...

O'BRIEN: So I guess my question is why bring this back into the court? The final word, to some degree, has been spoken.

FIEGER: Because juries often make mistakes and injustices occur as often in court as they do out of court. And in this case, this is an injustice that needs to be rectified by enlightened people.

O'BRIEN: That's going to be our final word this morning. Geoffrey Fieger.

FIEGER: Thanks, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: And, also, John Skrzynski, thanks for joining us this morning. Appreciate it, gentlemen.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com