A former Arizona doctor has been arrested and charged with manslaughter after being accused of assisting an individual’s death by suicide in a New York motel last fall.
Stephen P. Miller, of Tucson, Arizona, was arraigned in Ulster County Court on Friday, Feb. 2, on charges of second-degree manslaughter, and first and second-degree assault, according to a statement from the Kingston Police Department.
The 85-year-old was remanded to Ulster County Jail but released on $1 million bond, according to reports.
Police said they initially responded to a report of an unconscious and unresponsive person at a motel in Kingston, which is roughly 100 miles north of New York City, shortly before noon on Nov. 9, 2023.
Upon arrival, officers and first responders found the individual, who was not identified, appeared to have committed suicide alone in the motel room.
However, further investigation led to the discovery of evidence suggesting a second individual had been present and had assisted in the suicide, according to the police press release.
An arrest warrant was subsequently issued for Mr. Miller following a detailed investigation and consultation with the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office.
‘Done Carefully, Compassionately’
His attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, told The New York Times that the individual who died was a woman who had been “contending with severe, chronic pain” and had contacted Mr. Miller for help via a national organization that “advocates the legalization of medical aid in dying so that terminally ill patients have some control over how their lives end.”He did not state whether or not the woman was battling with a terminal illness.
The lawyer said his client had given the woman a book and counseling before traveling to New York from Arizona to witness her death. His client has provided similar services for other people on several occasions in recent years, he said.
Mr. Lichtman said he did not know what the official cause of the woman’s death was but believed it was asphyxiation and that she had inhaled a gas of some kind.
“This was done carefully, compassionately, and with a lot of research and reflection,” Mr. Lichtman told the publication.
In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, Mr. Miller’s attorney said, “We’re disappointed with the charges as Stephen had no intention to violate the law, but simply to provide comfort and counseling to a woman who had suffered debilitating back pain for years.”
He was issued a license to practice in Arizona in 1994, which expired in 2005, according to the outlet, which cited Arizona Medical Board records.
Tax Fraud
The former doctor lost his license to practice medicine after being convicted of tax fraud in Texas in 2006, his lawyer told The Associated Press. He was sentenced to just under four years in prison, according to the Department of Justice.Physician-assisted death has become a widely debated topic in the United States in recent years, with multiple states, including New York, introducing legislation to make medically assisted death legal.
Efforts to legalize it are also underway in a string of states, including Missouri, Michigan, Tennessee, and Florida, despite staunch opposition from religious organizations.
