NATION IN BRIEF : MICHIGAN : Inquest Possible in Kevorkian Case

A document suggesting that a man may have protested before he died with the assistance of Dr. Jack Kevorkian isn’t enough by itself to prompt criminal charges, a prosecutor said in East Lansing, Mich. The document, a private report by Kevorkian on the Feb. 15 death of Hugh Gale, 70, of Roseville, Mich., indicates that Gale may have asked that the mask through which he was breathing carbon monoxide be removed. Kevorkian’s lawyer said the request to “take it off” referred only to a tent placed over the man to contain escaping carbon monoxide. But Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga said he may seek a coroner’s inquest so that he can force witnesses to testify about Gale’s death.