LOCAILISTATt
The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 15, 1995 5
Kevorkian arrives at court wearing shackles, chain
Woman has
property stolen at
football game
A woman reported stolen property to
the Department of Public Safety during
last Saturday's Michigan football game
against Memphis.
The woman said her fannypack, sun-
glasses and Sony Walkman were taken
from the women's restroom in section
44.
DPS has no suspects.
Leaky carport roof
causes damage
A 1995 green Mazda was stained by
an unknown liquid dripping from the
roof of the Fletcher Carport Wednes-
day, according to DPS reports.
The damage reportedly occurred
around 7:30 a.m.
Two males arrested
on warrants
Two males, with outstanding war-
rants for their arrest, were taken into
custody early yesterday morning on
East Huron Street, DPS reports indi-
cate.
The two males were wanted by the
Detroit Police for multiple crimes. The
28-year-old male is wanted for three
misdemeanor warrants and the 23-ear-
old male was wanted for felonious as-
sault.
sAfter the DPS confirmed the war-
rants, the males were taken into custody
and turned over to the 6th precinct.
Egg thrown at car
A vehicle moving down Tappan just
before 5 a.m. yesterday morning was
struck by eggs, a caller reported.
.The alleged assailants were three
males, though when DPS officers
checked the area they were unable to
locate any suspects.
DPS said no permanent damage was
expected to have occured to the vehicle,
bht that the motorist would check the
car.
Equipment stolen
from campus
What do a microscope, a calculator a
cello and a purse have in common?
They were all stolen this week.
0 Three microscopes were reported
stolen from the Medical Science Unit
It, Tuesday morning. The caller said
that the theft occurred sometime after
Aug. 22.
The microscopes were valued at
$1,200.
0 Also on Tuesday, acallertold DPS
that his calculator was stolen from the
third floor of the Shapiro Library. It is
valued at $100.
DPS officials said that there is one
suspect: A white male, approximately
22 years old, with no facial hair. The
suspect was wearing a white T-shirt
and white coat.
* A cello was reported stolen last
Monday from the Earl V. Moore Build-
ing, said DPS officials. The caller said
that the theft occurred around 5:30 p.m.
last Friday. There were no signs of
forced entry and there are no suspects.
The cello is valued at $1,200.
*A Trek mountain bike was stolen
from the racks in front of Mary Markley
residence hall Wednesday afternoon.
e A University Hospital employee's
nurse was stolen from her locker at
University Hospital Wednesday morn-
ing.
-Complied by Daily Staff
Reporter Zachary M. Raimi.
PONTIAC (AP) - Dr. Jack Kevorkian arrived
at court in homemade stocks and a ball and chain
yesterday for a hearing on assisted suicide charges.
"Nobody with brains should take this seriously,"
Kevorkian told reporters at the Oakland County
courthouse. "It's nuts."
Kevorkian, a retired pathologist who advocates
doctor help for the severely ill who want to com-
mit suicide, was wearing laminated cardboard
stocks, his arms and head stuck through the holes.
"Kevorkian is accepting his medieval punish-
ment," said his attorney, Geoffrey Fieger.
Kevorkian also wore signs on his front and
back.
"Common law of Middle Ages. What's next, the
Inquisition?" read the one in front. And on the
back: "Think this is a circus? You're right. But
blame the seven Supreme Court jesters."
The seven-member Michigan Supreme Court
ruled last year that assisted suicide could be pros-
ecuted as a five-year felony in Michigan under
common law.
Prosecuting Kevorkian under centuries-old com-
mon law is a "travesty of justice," Fieger said.
He said that if the government wants to rely on
common law, it should follow other traditional
measures for suicide.
"They should exhume the bodies, drive a wooden
stake through the heart and bury them under the
public highway," Fieger said.
Kevorkian, 67, took off the items before enter-
ing the courtroom.
He was arraigned on two counts of assisted sui-
cide, a five-year felony under common law provi-
sions. When Kevorkian stood mute, Circuit Judge
David Breck entered an innocent plea for him. The
judge also set a tentative trial date of April 1, 1996.
"April Fool's Day - I think it's got poetic
justice," Fieger said as he left the hearing.
Breck gave both sides until Oct. 13 to file
motions in the case.
The charges stem from the 1991 deaths of two
seriously ill women. Sherry Miller, who suffered
from multiple sclerosis, inhaled carbon monoxide.
Marjorie Wantz used a device to inject lethal drugs.
He originally was accused of murdering them,
but a judge dismissed those charges and ordered
him tried on assisted suicide counts. He already
faces a Feb. 12 trial before another Oakland County
judge in two 1993 deaths.
Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Townsend ac-
knowledged cases involving Kevorkian stir emo-
tions, but said he was confident a jury would
follow the law and find that Kevorkian helped the
women commit suicide illegally.
Study: Work
tasksraiseiiskof
premature birth
STEPHANIE GRACE LIM/Daily
Staring back
Andreas Michas, an LSA first-year student, stares at a marble sculpture In the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology yesterday.
Engler's Renassnc Zones to
By Cathy Boguslasid
Daily Staff Reporter
Premature birth is one of the leading
causes of infant mortality in the United
States, but some University researchers
believe they have foundways for women
to reduce this risk.
Standing for more than four hours,
working more than eight hours per day
and exposure to stress and noise can all
be factors in premature births, said Bar-
bara Luke, associate professor of ob-
stetrics and gynecology at the Univer-
sity Medical Center.
"People tend to take pregnancy for
granted because it happens so often -
four million times a year. But it's really
magic, and shouldn't be taken for
granted," Luke said. "We need to have
some old-fashioned common sense and
take care of ourselves during pregnancy,
because once premature labor has
started, it's very hard to stop."
The study gives guidelines for
women, their physicians and public
policy-makers, said Timothy R. B.
Johnson, chair of obstetrics and gyne-
cology and senior author of the study.
Generally, pregnant women should not
work more than 40 hours per week, or
eight hours per day, he said.
Limits on women's working time
depend largely on what type of work
women do, Luke said.
"If you're a telephone-line repair
person and you're climbing up tele-
phone poles, you may need to cut back
on your work sooner," she said. "If
you're a receptionist in a fairly quiet
office, you may be able to work up until
your due date."
Although the study only covered paid
work, Luke cautions that women must
cut back on all activity, not just time on
the job.
"Prematurity is the leading cause of
infant mortality in the U.S.," Robinson
said. Premature babies suffer from nu-
merous health problems, and prema-
ture delivery can increase health risks
to the mother, he said.
Other factors, such as a history of
premature births, miscarriages, or still-
born babies also can increase a woman's
chances ofdelivering prematurely, Luke
said.
The study, published today in the
American Journal of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, surveyed 1,470 nurses. It
found that pregnant women who stand
from four to six hours at a time increase
their risk of premature delivery by 80
percent.
Nurses were chosen for the study
because they are "a homogeneous
group of patients, they have a fairly
rigorous work schedule, and as OB-
GYN nurses they have a level of so-
phistication that allows them to an-
swer questions not necessarily tar-
geted to the lowest common denomi-
nator. Also, nurses probably have a
fairly good memory of their own ob-
stetrical history," Johnson said.
be under construction
LANSING (AP) - Bulldozers and
construction crews should be flooding
into some of Michigan's most blighted
areas by next spring, Gov. John Engler
predicted yesterday as he touted bills
creating low-tax zones.
Engler joined legislative leaders at a
news conference to discuss details of
the Renaissance Zones the governor
first proposed in May.
"I think you're going to see investment
literally come pouring in," Engler said.
The governor predicted that the plan
to waive taxes in selected Renaissance
Zones would settle once and for all the
question of whether cutting taxes cre-
ates economic growth.
House Speaker Paul Hillegonds (R-
Holland) said other states will copy the
idea.
"We don't know if every pilot Re-
naissance Zone will succeed, but it's a
risk well worth taking," he said.
Senate Majority Leader Dick
Posthumus (R-Alto) said half of the 18
bills setting up the zones will be intro-
duced in the Senate Tuesday. The mea-
sures could be on the governor's desk
by Thanksgiving, he said.
Engler said the state could have ap-
plications approved in time for the
spring construction season.
The governor's proposal will let each
county, plus Detroit and Grand Rapids,
submit an application for a Renaissance
Zone, for a total of 85.
Up to eight will be selected- five in
urban areas and three in rural areas. In
those areas, major state and local taxes
on businesses and individuals, except
the sales tax, would be waived for up to
15 years, including a multi-year period
to phase back in the taxes.
The state would make up property taxes
for schools based on existing property
values. Local communities wouldhaveto
give up the revenue from other taxes.
A community could include up to
5,000 contiguous acres in its zone and
cover commercial, industrial or resi-
dential properties, or all three.
Engler said that will not be costly to
local governments since the blighted
areas produce little revenue now. He
compared prospective areas to a bare
spot on the carpet.
"There's nothing there. There's
weeds, there's litter," he said.
Engler said minor changes were made
in the proposal since it was unveiled in
by spring
May. For example, taxes obligated to
repay bonds would not be waived. And
landlords would have to submit an affi-
davit that they are in compliance with
housing codes to get the tax break for
rental housing.
Doug Rothwell, head of the Michi-
gan Jobs Commission, said he expects
15 to 25 applications.
Suspects companions to be key witnesses
DETROIT (AP) - The government
will not charge four companions of
bridge death suspect Martell Welch
Jr., although they will be the main
witnesses in his murder trial, Wayne
County Prosecutor John O'Hair said
yesterday.
Welch, 19, is scheduled to appear for
arraignment in Detroit Recorder's Court
on Friday in the Aug.19 death of Deletha
Word, 33.
Witnesses say he attacked her after a
traffic accident and she then jumped to
her death in the Detroit River.
Welch faces an open murder charge,
meaning he could be convicted of first-
or second-degree murder. If convicted
of first-degree murder, he faces an au-
tomatic sentence of life imprisonment
without parole.
O'Hair said his office decided to use
the four companions as witnesses, rather
than charge them, because they had
little to do with the death and it was
more important to build a strong case
against Welch.
Two of the companions tried to re-
strain Welch, and the most any of them
did was vandalize Word's car, O'Hair
said.
"Welch is the egregious offender,"
O'Hair said. "The proper focus of this
case is the brutal death of Deletha Word
and the outrageous actions of the one
individual responsible for it."
Had the companions been charged,
they likely would have refused to tes-
tify on grounds of self-incrimination,
O'Hair said.
Word's death attracted nationwide
attention, in part because of accounts
that dozens of onlookers did nothing
and some even cheered as the woman
was dragged from her car and beaten.
Witnesses have said a few teen-agers
may have cheered but that most people
were horrified at the beating and afraid
to intervene.
Truck driver to face trial in
death of A2 city employee
&" ...University students may be
able within ten years to study, write,
listen to music, poetry and instruc-
tors, and even watch filmstrips in
study booths linked to computers.
. "The computer will be used as a
iaster teaching machine and will
supply the student with whatever
subject matter the teacher has en-
tered into the system."
The Associated Press
A truck driver has been ordered to
stand trial in the death of a city worker
who was changing light bulbs in a traf-
fic signal when he was hit was by an
oversized delivery van.
Ronald W. Miller, 42, is accused of
sending Stephen Hantula plunging to
hisdeath June 14 afterhittingthe "cherry
picker" Hantula was standing in while
working about 12 feet above the street.
Hantula, 41, who was not secured to
the bucket with a safety strap or wear-
ing a hard hat, suffered a broken neck
and a fractured skull in the fall and
never regained consciousness before
dying several hours later.
Jeffrey Anderson, one of four wit-
nesses during a preliminary hearing,
said he was stopped at the intersection
and saw Miller's truck hit the bucket.
"All I was watching was the truck
and the man in the bucket," Anderson
testified. "The truck was going too fast
through that intersection."
Assistant Prosecutor Julia Owdziej
called two police witnesses,
Detective Sgt. Dennis Betz said he
spoke with Miller about an hour after
the crash, and Miller said he was about
150 feet away from the intersection
"when he realized his truck would not
go underneath the bucket."
District Judge Elizabeth Pollard-
Hines ordered Miller to stand trial in on
a charge of negligent homicide, a felony
that carries a maximum penalty two
years in prison'if convicted.
{ 1#.
I
FRIDAY sored by department of geological
iArchery Club, 930-0189, Sports sciences, Chemistry Building,
Coliseum, Hill Street, 7-9 p.m. Room 1640, 4 p.m.
Q~ "Prin Oda ie at toatami trail." t'1 a.-aw nw e . na..ti :ne:-
by Hillel, Michigan Union, 7 p.m.
0 "HIlel Rededicatlon Ceremony,"
sponsored by Hillel, Hillel, 1429
Hill Street i n1m.
"""