February 21, 1996
Web posted at: 12:30 a.m. EST
PONTIAC, Michigan (CNN) -- Dr. Jack Kevorkian's attorney said he was so happy with the first day of testimony in the assisted suicide case he might not even need to put on a case.
Kevorkian is charged with a crime under a law that has now expired. The ban against assisted suicide in Michigan ran out in 1994, but in 1993, Kevorkian helped Merian Frederick, 72, of Ann Arbor and Dr. Ali Khalili, 61, of Oak Brook, Illinois, kill themselves by breathing-in carbon monoxide.
The jury must decide if Kevorkian's sole intent was to kill, or whether he meant to relieve suffering, even if it hastened death.
During opening statements, Kevorkian's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, compared his client's action to taking a sick pet to the vet to be put down. "The best thing to do is to put it out of its pain and agony," he said. "Your intent isn't to kill."
But assistant prosecutor John Skrzynski said the use of carbon monoxide showed Kevorkian intended to kill. "Carbon monoxide has no medical, therapeutic value," he said.
The trial could be delayed over motions on the definition of "intent." Prosecutors said they are thinking of filing a motion asking the judge to clarify how the jury should construe the word.
The defense is also seeking to keep a book Kevorkian wrote on assisted suicide out of the trial.
Several witnesses, mostly paramedics and police and fire officials who found the bodies after Kevorkian placed 911 calls, testified Tuesday. A 911 tape was played wherein Kevorkian calls the death a "medicide."
A police officer said he found Frederick lying on her side and half covered in a sheet, wearing a mask on her face that was attached to a gas-type canister.
This is the second time prosecutors have tried to convict Kevorkian for his involvement in assisted suicides. His first trial ended in an acquittal in 1994. Fieger told reporters he expects the same outcome this time.
"The biggest challenge is how fast we can beat up the prosecutor and end this case real quickly," Fieger said.
Fieger told the 12 jurors and four alternates that prosecutors were determined to get Kevorkian, not enforce the law.
"By your verdict, you will send a message, not only to the world, but to the prosecutor: 'Do not tread upon us,'" he said.
But assistant prosecutor Greg Townsend said the case is a matter of law. "All we want to get across to the jury is the truth and the facts in the case," he told reporters.
Kevorkian, who sat reading a book on how to improve vocabulary with his fingers in his ears during opening statements, said he's not interested in the outcome of his trial.
"It doesn't matter to me, it's out of my power," he said. "Could you win against the inquisition in the Middle Ages? No."
Kevorkian, who acknowledges attending 27 deaths since 1990, faces up to four years in prison if convicted. He also faces trial April 1 in the 1991 deaths of two women.
There will be no testimony Wednesday, and only a morning session is scheduled for Thursday.
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