
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 3, 1994                   TAG: 9405030160
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DETROIT                                 LENGTH: Medium

JURY ACQUITS SUICIDE DOCTOR

Dr. Jack Kevorkian was acquitted Monday of breaking Michigan's assisted- suicide law after a jury concluded he was only trying to help a gravely ill man end his suffering, not cause his death.

After the verdict, the 65-year-old retired pathologist challenged doctors who have secretly supported his crusade to go public.

``I know there are doctors who want to come forward,'' the self-styled death doctor said. ``I want this intimidation by medical politicians to stop.''

Kevorkian was charged in the Aug. 4 death of Thomas Hyde, 30, who suffered from the degenerative nerve disorder Lou Gehrig's disease.

By the time Kevorkian hooked Hyde up to a canister of carbon monoxide on a mattress in the back of his old, rusty van, Hyde could barely walk, talk or feed himself.

Kevorkian, who had faced up to four years in prison and a $2,000 fine if convicted, acknowledged he supplied the carbon monoxide and placed the clear plastic mask over Hyde's nose and mouth. But it wasn't enough for jurors to convict.

Three jurors interviewed after the verdict said they concluded that Kevorkian's main intent was to relieve Hyde's suffering, not cause his death - a loophole in the law. Prosecutors had argued that part of the law was meant to apply to physicians prescribing experimental drugs for terminal patients.

The verdict raises more questions about the future of Michigan's assisted-suicide ban, which expires Nov. 25.

The Michigan Court of Appeals is considering three circuit judges' rulings that the law is unconstitutional.

by CNB