Kevorkian released from prison

COLDWATER, Mich., June 1 (UPI) -- Jack Kevorkian, nicknamed "Dr. Death" for helping the terminally ill kill themselves, left a Michigan prison Friday after serving eight years.

Kevorkian, who was originally sentenced to 10 to 25 years for second-degree murder, must spend two years on parole. One condition is that he refrain from performing assisted suicides or providing detailed information on how to build his suicide machine, Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections, told The New York Times.

"The desire of the parole board was not to infringe on his freedom of speech," Marlan said. "What they don't want is him offering information on how to build the device he has previously used for such things or how to create a system to assist in suicide."

Kevorkian said before he left the prison area his release was "one of the high points" of his life.

During his years as an advocate for physician-assisted suicide, Kevorkian claimed to have helped more than 100 people end their lives.

Kevorkian said he plans to live in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., receiving a pension and Social Security and checking in with his parole officer once a week.