Dr. Jack Kevorkian Files Petition for Pardon, Parole or Commutation of Prison Sentence

Dr. Jack Kevorkian Files Petition for Pardon, Parole or Commutation of Prison Sentence

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Mayer Morganroth, the attorney representing Dr. Jack Kevorkian, filed application with the Michigan Board of Parole and Governor Jennifer M. Granholm Friday seeking the pardon, parole or commutation of Dr. Kevorkian to time served.

"Dr. Kevorkian is 78-years-old," Morganroth said via telephone. "Jack doesn't have very many days left. For God's sake, he's been locked up for more than seven years for an offense that not one doctor in the United States has spent even one day in prison. It's time for compassion ... it's past time."

The petition and doctors state that Dr. Kevorkian will probably not survive another year if kept in prison, because his health has deteriorated so rapidly.

"Dr. Kevorkian has become increasingly frail and has fallen twice, injuring his wrist and fracturing two ribs," Morganroth said.

Dr. Kevorkian also suffers from seriously high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, temporal arthritis, active Hepatitis C which is violently attacking his liver (Dr. Kevorkian contracted the Hepatitis C during Vietnam in the service of his country testing soldiers' blood transfusions), peripheral arteritis, adrenal insufficiency, chronic pulmonary obstruction disease, hypertensive cardiovascular disease and cataracts. Kevorkian is also suffering from diplopia, vertigo, dysphagia, headaches, left ventricular hypertrophy, osteoporosis, ataxia and eschemia.

A recent MSNBC national poll showed that 88% of respondents believed that Kevorkian should be released immediately. Similarly, other polls, including one conducted by Comcast, overwhelmingly support Dr. Kevorkian's immediate release from prison.

Currently, a film written by Emmy award nominee Barbara Tumer, directed by two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple, and produced by Bee Holder Productions, is in pre-production and will begin filming this year. The film, "You Don't Know Jack," will center upon the fascinating life, times and work of Dr. Kevorkian.

In addition, a newly-published book, "Between the Dying and the Dead," by Neal Nicol and Harry Wylie (University of Wisconsin Press. 2006), for the first time, reveals the real man behind the public image of Jack Kevorkian. Specifically, the book will explore the many facets and talents of Dr. Jack Kevorkian as an artist, writer, pianist, composer and sensitive human being.

Source: Mayer Morganroth

CONTACT: Mayer Morganroth, attorney representing Dr. Jack Kevorkian, +1-248-355-3084 or +1-248-613-6347

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