‘Suicide Machine’ Doctor Case Will Be Dropped

A county prosecutor said Friday he will not appeal the dismissal of a first-degree murder charge against a retired pathologist whose “suicide machine” was used by an Alzheimer’s disease patient to kill herself.

The case against Dr. Jack Kevorkian, of Royal Oak, Mich., was thrown out Thursday by Oakland County District Judge Gerald McNally. His ruling followed two days of testimony and the viewing of a dramatic videotape in which Janet Adkins told Kevorkian, “I don’t want to go on.”

Adkins, 54, of Portland, Ore., died June 4 in the back of Kevorkian’s van in a remote park. She was hooked up to an intravenous device that permitted her to inject herself with a lethal solution.

Oakland County prosecutor Richard Thompson said Friday that he will not appeal the ruling and that it is time for the Michigan Legislature to eliminate confusion over assisting in suicides.

He said he was not conceding that it was legal, but he would not pursue further legal action against Kevorkian.

“I think this is a question preeminently for the legislative branch of government,” Thompson said, pointing to a movement in the state Senate to make assisting in a suicide a felony.

McNally held that Kevorkian committed no crime under state law. He said the question of criminality in assisting in a suicide is an issue for the Legislature.

Michigan Gov.-elect John Engler, reacting to McNally’s ruling, said he will push for legislation to outlaw helping a person commit suicide. He said he hopes the Legislature will act on such a measure early in the 1991 session.

Thompson said he will prosecute any other similar cases that occur in Oakland County.