February 26, 1996
Web posted at: 11:00 p.m. EST
PONTIAC, Michigan (CNN) -- The second week in the assisted suicide trial of Dr. Jack Kevorkian began Monday with the doctor and his attorney angry about attempts by prosecutors to get the Michigan Court of Appeals to take charge of the trial.
This is an attempt to deprive Jack Kevorkian of a fair trial," said Kevorkian's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger. (68K AIFF sound or 68K WAV sound) Kevorkian labeled the prosecution's actions a "political conspiracy."
Oakland County prosecutors were upset by instructions given to the jury by Judge Jessica Cooper, and they filed a motion with the state Court of Appeals on Monday requesting an immediate rehearing.
In her first instructions, Cooper said that the state must prove Kevorkian intended solely to cause death and not relieve pain or discomfort. Cooper re-instructed the jury last week after the appeals court ruled her instructions were too restrictive, but prosecutors were still unhappy.
The latest motion would give the appeals court veto power over Cooper's rulings on evidence. Barring that, Assistant Prosecutor Laurence Kozma said that prosecutors want Cooper removed from the case.
"They're trying to hang me," Kevorkian said, adding that he would "walk out of the courtroom" if the appeals court takes over the case. (145K AIFF sound or 145K WAV sound)
Instead of revising her original instructions, Cooper read the appellate order to the jury Friday morning. That order stated that the prosecution must prove only that Kevorkian knew of plans to commit suicide by the two patients and that he provided the means to do so.
Kevorkian is accused of two counts of assisted suicide in the 1993 deaths of Merian Frederick, 72, and Dr. Ali Khalili, 61. Both died in Kevorkian's presence of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Kevorkian's defense hinges on the contention that his role in assisting Frederick and Khalili to commit suicide was designed to relieve suffering. Members of Frederick's and Khalili's families testified on Kevorkian's behalf.
"I think there is a breaking point in every individual, where pain is intolerable and that's the point he reached," said Khalili's widow Sandra Khalili.
Richard Frederick, the son of Merian Frederick, told the court that his mother "knew she was going to die. Her life was over. It was already ending." (213K AIFF sound or 213K WAV sound)
Merian Frederick's daughter-in-law Ola Frederick testified that Kevorkian's arrest "enraged" her, and that the doctor "is one of the kindest, gentlest most compassionate physicians that I've ever come in contact with."
Frederick suffered from multiple sclerosis and amyotropic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), and Khalili suffered from bone cancer.
![[Imagemap]](/US/images/9601/navbar.gif){kind=small}
Copyright © 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
