Lawyer: Kevorkian won't last another year in prison

Lawyer: Kevorkian won'tlast another year in prison
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- An attorney for Jack Kevorkian said the assisted-suicide advocate will probably not survive another year if kept in prison, as he again asked the state to grant his client a pardon or commute his sentence.
Lawyer Mayer Morganroth said he applied to the state Parole Board and Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Friday seeking a pardon, parole or commutation, citing the 77-year-old's deteriorating health.
"Kevorkian has become increasingly frail and has fallen twice, injuring his wrist and fracturing two ribs," Morganroth said in a statement.
His blood pressure has gone "through the roof," the lawyer said Saturday.
The former doctor is serving a 10- to 25-year sentence for second-degree murder for giving a fatal injection of drugs in 1998. He is eligible for parole in 2007.
Hundreds of villagersflee after massacre
ALLAIPIDDY, Sri Lanka -- Piling belongings, fishing boats and even their pets onto trucks, some 1,500 Tamils in an island village where at least eight people were gunned down fled Saturday to rebel territory, fearful the government could not protect them.
Mounting violence in Sri Lanka is forcing thousands from their homes, exacerbating an already severe refugee problem and threatening to torpedo a shaky four-year old truce between the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels.
On May 13, unidentified gunmen killed at least eight Tamil civilians, including a 4-month-old baby, a 4-year-old boy and their parents, in their home in Allaipiddy.
TamilNet, a pro-rebel Web site, claimed government forces surrounded the house and opened fire. The government denied any military involvement and blamed the killings on the Tamil Tiger rebels, saying they were attempting to "divert international opinion."
Police remove protesters,ending their hunger strike
DUBLIN, Ireland -- Police removed Afghan hunger-strikers Saturday night from a Dublin cathedral, where protesters spent a week demanding asylum and warning they would kill themselves if officers came near.
Officers swept into St. Patrick's Cathedral at sunset and, without a struggle, hauled out approximately 40 protesters from the 13th century Dublin landmark. No injuries were reported.
Justice Minister Michael McDowell defended his government's refusal to negotiate with the Afghans, calling their threats to kill themselves blackmail that no democracy could tolerate.
He said the adults in the group had been arrested, while eight youths were taken into state care. The adults were arraigned in an overnight court session to face a range of criminal charges.
The asylum seekers -- all males aged 17 to 45 -- went on hunger strike in the cathedral on May 15 and demanded immediate asylum, insisting they would rather starve to death than be deported to Afghanistan.
Officials won't releasenames of 109 victims
SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Sao Paulo's government refused to release the names of 109 people killed by police during a week of gangland violence, despite increased pressure on Saturday from activists who said public confidence in law enforcement had been shaken.
Sao Paulo state Gov. Claudio Lembo has balked at identifying those killed during the weeklong series of attacks on police and counterattacks against suspected gang members.
"It's a question of preserving the privacy of the families," Lembo said Saturday. "Each one will have a proper death certificate issued."
'Naked Guy' dies in jail
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The former college student known as the "Naked Guy," who gained notoriety in the early 1990s for attending class in the buff, has died in jail, authorities said.
Andrew Martinez, 33, whose stripped-down strolls at the University of California, Berkeley, got him expelled and prompted the city to adopt a strict anti-nudity ordinance, was found unconscious Thursday in a Santa Clara County jail, said jail spokesman Mark Cursi.
Officials are investigating the death as an apparent suicide.
He had been in custody since Jan. 10 on charges of battery and assault with a deadly weapon, authorities said.
Opening day for 'Da Vinci'
LOS ANGELES -- "The Da Vinci Code" banked an estimated $29 million at the box office on its first day in theaters, an industry official said Saturday, positioning the film to turn in the strongest opening weekend for any movie this year.
Early results showed that the movie, based on a runaway best-seller and starring multiple-Oscar winner Tom Hanks, appealed to moviegoers despite lackluster reviews.
Associated Press