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NEWS RELEASE
February 16, 2000
CONTACT:
Disability Rights activists will gather at the Oakland County Courthouse on Wednesday, February 16 to bear witness to Kevorkian's latest legal maneuver attempting to escape the consequences of his actions.
Last March, Jack Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder in the televised death of Thomas Youk. Kevorkian is appealing that conviction. The current hearing is to determine if Kevorkian can be freed on bail pending the outcome of his appeals.
Disability activists are outraged at the possibility of this self-admitted serial killer of people with disabilities being set freed after serving less than a year of his sentence.
"There is no doubt that Kevorkian killed Thomas Youk,' says Mike Zelly. He had the tape of Youk's execution broadcast on national TV and then dared authorities to prosecute him."
Even though Kevorkian's only conviction has been related to the death of Youk, Kevorkian has been the facilitator of the suicides of over 100 people with illnesses and disabilities - two thirds of whom were not terminally ill.
"If Kevorkian were freed on bail, it would be a slap in the face to disabled people in Michigan," says Diane Coleman. " Since 1991, he has boasted about his role in aiding the suicides of people with disabilities that were in despair. He has engaged in his killing activities while being tried and while on probation. There is no reason to trust this long-term killer to refrain from his usual activities and encouraging others to do the same, thereby declaring it's once again open season on people with disabilities in Michigan."
In sentencing Kevorkian last year, Judge Jessica Cooper noted that Kevorkian had made it clear that incarceration would be the only thing that would stop him from taking more lives. Judge Cooper was right then and it is still true now. Like any other convicted serial killer, Jack Kevorkian cannot be trusted out on bail. He's been a predator too long to change now.
Members of Not Dead Yet, a disability rights group opposed to the legalization of physician-assisted suicide, will testify at the Augusta Armory on February 16, opposing the Maine Death with Dignity Act.
The most common reason given for choosing assisted suicide in Oregon, the only state where the practice is legal, is fear of future disability. People with disabilities, who often struggle for access to the services they need to live and work in their communities, argue that encouraging death over disability devalues the lives of a segment of the population.
The Hemlock Society, which has poured funds into Maine in an attempt to legalize assisted suicide, has never shied from this devaluation. In his book Final Exit, Hemlock co-founder Derek Humphry claimed that legalization of easy death for the terminally ill was merely the first step toward a broader right. A survey conducted by the Hemlock Society of its own members reports that 82% would extend assisted suicide to people with non-terminal but "hopeless" conditions. In a December 1997, press release, current Hemlock president Faye Girsh claimed that family members should be able to choose "assisted suicide" for "a minor or an incompetent adult." And in his most recent book, co-written with Mary Clement, Humphry suggests that providing two choices - death or a nursing home - to elderly disabled people will offer an easy way cut costs associated with long-term care.
Not Dead Yet was founded in 1996 to provide a voice for the disability community. In the four years it has been active, it has come to be the leading voice of disability rights on this issue. NDY activists have protested the actions of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who admits to helping over 100 people - two thirds of whom were not terminally ill - to die. In 1997 Not Dead Yet held a vigil at the Supreme Court drawing over 500 disabled activists from across the nation, including Maine and Memphis Tennessee. Activists in Maine have also testified before the legislature in opposition to a 1998 law.
Maine Not Dead Yet, in conjunction with Uppity Disability Resources, is also preparing to provide Internet coverage of the hearing beginning at 1 PM EST. It will provide multimedia updates, an analysis of the proposed legislation, and information about the issue, including an interview with national Not Dead Yet leaders. The coverage is available at:
Local, Memphis:
Tim Wheat
(901) 726-6404 * (901) 726-6521 fax
1633 Madison Avenue - Memphis TN 38104
National:
Steve Drake
Diane Coleman
(708) 209-1500 ext. 11
7521 Madison St.
Forest Park, IL 60130
The Memphis Center for Independent Living
1633 Madison Avenue,
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6404 v/tty (901) 726-6521 fax
mcil@mcil.org
MCIL is a United Way of the Mid-South member Agency
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