Kevorkian Furloughed for Hernia Surgery

Associated Press
Friday, February 4, 2005

DETROIT – Assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian was released from
prison Thursday so he could undergo bilateral hernia surgery, his
attorney said.

Kevorkian, 76, is serving a 10- to 25-year sentence for second-degree
murder after being convicted of giving a fatal injection of drugs to a
Lou Gehrig’s disease patient in 1998.

Leo Lalonde, a Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman, said
Kevorkian would undergo the surgery at a hospital in Jackson, about 80
miles west of Detroit. Kevorkian is under constant guard in a secure
wing separate from regular patients, Lalonde said.

Mayer Morganroth, Kevorkian’s attorney, didn’t know when the former
pathologist would have the surgery, but said he likely would stay in the
hospital for a few weeks.

Kevorkian was given 10 minutes’ notice early Thursday that he was being
released from the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer, Morganroth said.

“They’ve known he needed the surgery for quite a while,” Morganroth told
the Detroit Free Press. “They did some stress tests to see if his heart
could withstand it. I guess they decided it’s worth the risk.”

Besides the hernia, Kevorkian reportedly has hepatitis C, high blood
pressure, arthritis, a heart murmur, circulatory problems and the
beginning stages of cataracts in his eyes.

“I’m really concerned,” Morganroth said. “His health is quite poor.”

The Michigan Parole Board in December refused to act on Morganroth’s
request to parole Kevorkian, saying the application was essentially the
same as one he submitted for Kevorkian in November 2003. Gov. Jennifer
Granholm’s office denied that earlier request.

Kevorkian has said he assisted in at least 130 deaths, but has promised
in affidavits and requests for pardon or commutation that he would not
assist in a suicide if he is released from prison. He is eligible for
parole in 2007.

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