An 85-year-old former Arizona doctor pleaded guilty to manslaughter Tuesday for helping a woman commit suicide in a New York motel room.
Stephen Miller was arrested by a 59-year-old woman – who was identified by police. new York Times Doreen Brodhead was found dead by housekeeping staff at the Super 8 Motel in Kingston last November.
His body was found with a note and a canister of nitrogen gas.
The former doctor came to the Hudson Valley from his home in Tucson after spending six months counseling and talking with Broadhead about his neck and back pain, which he had suffered from for decades, his attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, said at a hearing in Ulster County Court.
The lawyer said Miller had provided the woman with comfort and “very minor technical assistance” because she had contacted him because of his work with Choice & Dignity — a right-to-die advocacy group.
According to the Ulster County District Attorney's Office, Broadhead's cause of death was ruled “assisted suicide” by choking.
“Technically, he violated the law,” Lichtman told reporters after the hearing. “We acknowledge that, but with the understanding that morally, Stephen Miller did nothing wrong.”
During the brief court hearing, Judge Brian Rounds asked the former doctor: “Are you pleading guilty because you are, in fact, guilty of second-degree murder?”
Miller replied, “By your definition, yes.”
Under New York law, it is illegal to knowingly induce or assist another person to commit suicide.
His lawyer said Miller struck the deal to avoid going to jail.
The former doctor had pleaded not guilty to murder and two assault charges after his arrest in February.
Assault charges against him were dropped as part of a deal with prosecutors.
If convicted on all counts, he could have faced up to 25 years in prison. But Miller was sentenced to five years of probation.
Miller — who worked as a doctor for decades in California, Texas and Illinois — lost his license to practice medicine after he was convicted of tax fraud in Texas in 2006. He was sentenced to nearly four years in prison in that case.
Although Miller still supports legalized assisted suicide, his lawyer said he would not provide assistance in the future.
“That part of his life is over,” Lichtman said after the hearing.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or go to Suicide PreventionLifeline.org,
post with wires
