Prosecutor Drops Kevorkian Charges Newly Elected Official Dismisses 10 Suicide Cases

The new prosecutor who defeated Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s archenemy agreed Friday to drop all charges against Kevorkian in 10 suicides, saying it would be a waste of time and taxpayer money to pursue him.

Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca said he doesn’t believe he could convict the suicide doctor under existing law, and a failure would “merely serve to enhance Dr. Kevorkian’s crusade.”

The charges were filed last fall by then-Prosecutor Richard Thompson, who twice failed to convict Kevorkian. Gorcyca defeated Thompson in an August primary after criticizing him for wasting resources pursuing Kevorkian.

Kevorkian said later Friday: “The prosecutions and legal threats didn’t bother me. This matter should not be in the courts. It’s a medical issue.”

Kevorkian still faces charges in a suicide in Ionia County in western Michigan.

The retired pathologist has acknowledged taking part in 45 suicides since 1990 and has been acquitted at three trials covering five deaths in Oakland and Wayne counties.

Gorcyca said any future assisted suicides will still be investigated, and his decision “does not mean that Dr. Kevorkian or anyone else now has a blank check to assist suicides.”

Thompson, Gorcyca’s predecessor, criticized the decision as a “giant excuse of why the law should not be enforced.”

Gorcyca’s decision was announced two days after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on challenges to New York and Washington state bans on assisted suicide.

The court, which has previously refused to hear Kevorkian’s appeals involving Michigan law, is expected to rule by July.