Man convicted of manslaughter in Ulster County assisted suicide case

KINGSTON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Ulster County District Attorney's Office announced that an Arizona man has been convicted in an assisted suicide case. Stephen Miller, 85, of Tucson, was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to a five-year term of probation.

The indictment from back in February alleged that on November 9, 2023, Miller traveled from Arizona to the Super 8 Motel in Kingston and caused the death of a person after acquiring the instruments necessary for an assisted suicide. The ensuing investigation by the Kingston Police Department resulted in the death being deemed a homicide.

"This defendant has taken accountability for his conduct in this county. His actions led to the death of another person in this community at her most desperate time. Death by any means is not an appropriate answer or response to the despair that some or many of us experience. The rationale for his actions do not take away from the fact that they are criminal under our laws," said District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji. "The New York State Legislature has not passed a law authorizing 'assisted suicide', and as DA, I cannot close my eyes to that fact regardless of any mitigating considerations lest we open a Pandora’s Box for subterfuge and ill motives to excuse homicides as assisted suicides. It is best to direct or assist the person to the resources that are available through medical, psychiatric, and family interventions."

The District Attorney's Office stated that the name of the deceased has not been announced at the request of their family.

Video features original coverage from back in February.