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| Court Refuses ABC Kevorkian Interview |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 06/06/2001 |
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A state appeals court Monday refused to order a prison to allow ABC-TV to conduct an on-camera interview with Jack Kevorkian (news - web sites), saying corrections officials should have discretion over inmates' interviews. The state Department of Corrections last year turned down a request from ABC's Barbara Walters to interview the assisted-suicide advocate for the newsmagazine '20/20.'' The request called for Walters and 10 other people to be admitted to the prison for nine hours, department spokesman Matt Davis said. A county judge last year ordered the department to allow the interview, but the Michigan Court of Appeals later blocked the network's request. Monday's ruling upholds the department's right to use its discretion in granting inmate interviews. Davis said allowing cameras in prisons could present security problems and other complications. Davis said the Department of Corrections has offered ABC access to Kevorkian for a one-on-one, off-camera interview. ABC, backed by several news organizations, argued the restrictions violate the First Amendment, which protects freedom of the press. Kevorkian doesn't have strong opinions about ABC's request, but would be willing to be interviewed, said his attorney, Mayer Morganroth. 'I'm trying to figure how it would disrupt anything,'' Morganroth said. 'It looks like almost every week, on `60 Minutes' or '20/20,' someone's on camera in a prison, and I haven't heard once of any disruption.'' Cameron Evans, an attorney representing ABC, said he was disappointed but had not spoken with his client and could not comment further. Kevorkian, 72, says he has attended more than 130 suicides. He is serving a 10- to 25-year sentence for second-degree murder in the 1998 death of a terminally ill man, whose death was videotaped and aired on CBS' ``60 Minutes.'' |
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