An 85-year-old former doctor from Arizona, Stephen P. Miller, has been arrested and charged with manslaughter after allegedly aiding a person to die by suicide in a New York motel in November. Miller was arraigned on Friday and pled not guilty to charges of second-degree manslaughter, and first and second-degree assault. The investigation began on November 9 when police responded to a report about an unconscious and unresponsive person at a Super 8 motel in Kingston, New York. Initially, it appeared that the person had died by suicide alone in the room, but further investigation revealed evidence of a second person who had contributed to or assisted in the suicide. An arrest warrant was issued for Miller, and he was charged with second-degree manslaughter under the state's penal code. The deceased person has not been identified, and Miller is not related to them.

Miller's attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, stated that the woman who died had contacted Miller through a national organization advocating for the legalization of medical aid in dying. Lichtman explained that Miller had traveled to New York from Arizona to witness the death of the woman, who suffered from severe, chronic pain. He added that Miller had provided similar services before, and the act was done carefully, compassionately, and with research and reflection.

Miller serves on the advisory board of Choice and Dignity, an end-of-life nonprofit based in Arizona that believes in respecting and honoring individual end-of-life plans. Medical aid in dying is a controversial topic, legal in 10 states and Washington, D.C., but not in New York. The state has proposed the "Medical Aid in Dying Act," which allows terminally ill patients who are mentally competent to request medication to hasten death under certain requirements. The bill is currently in a Senate committee.

Miller, who is a former family practice doctor, graduated from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Sciences in Chicago in 1964. He had a medical license in Arizona that expired in 2005 and a revoked license in California due to a tax evasion conviction in Texas in 2006. Miller was sentenced to nearly four years in prison and three years of supervised release.

Miller was remanded to Ulster County Jail on a $500,000 cash bail or $1 million bond but was bonded out on the same day. He is due back in court on March 14.