The former doctor charged in the assisted suicide death of a Kingston woman serves on the advisory board of an Arizona-based nonprofit that advocates for the rights of those who wish to end their lives.

Stephen Miller, 85, is charged with felony manslaughter and assault in the Nov. 9, 2023 death of 59-year-old Doreen Brodhead at the Super 8 Motel in Kingston.

Police believe Miller traveled from his home in Arizona to Kingston, where he assisted Brodhead in taking her own life using nitrogen gas and a plastic hood. Miller returned from Arizona and turned himself in to the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 2. An indictment handed up by an Ulster County grand jury charges Miller with first-degree assault and second-degree manslaughter. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in state prison if convicted.

Following his arraignment before County Court Judge Bryan Rounds, Miller, who has a prior felony conviction for tax evasion, was remanded to Ulster County Jail on $500,000 bail.

Prosecutors believe the former doctor who surrendered his medical license in 2008 following his conviction on federal tax charges met Brodhead through “Choice and Dignity.” The Tucson-based nonprofit has been around in various forms since 1980 when it was formed as “The Hemlock Society,” named for the poisonous plant the Greek philosopher Socrates used to end his life in 399 BCE rather than face exile or execution. The group, which claims about 500 members advocates for “right to die” laws and provides workshops on issues like advance directives and “meetup groups” for people interested in assisted suicide.

The group also offers a closed-door members-only “life completion class” that provides training for “exit guides” and hands-on instruction on suicide using the same inert gas method allegedly employed by Miller in Brodhead’s death.

“We believe that every individual deserves a death as free of pain and suffering as possible,” reads a statement on the group’s website. “We also believe that every individual should have control over the care they are given at the end of life, including the right to end medical treatments when they no longer add to the quality of life. Choice and Dignity helps our members to have that control and tries to advocate for those rights.”

Miller is listed as a member of Choice and Dignity’s advisory board where he’s identified as “Steve Miller MD.” In an email to Kingston Wire Choice and Dignity President Jim Schultz confirmed Miller’s role in the group and said members were “saddened” by his arrest.

“As I am sure you are aware, the taking of one’s own life is not illegal,” wrote Schulz. “We see Steve’s work as a compassionate presence for people who do not wish to die alone as a noble undertaking.”

Miller is represented by high-profile New York attorney Jeffrey Lichtman, whose previous clients include Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Gambino crime family boss John Gotti Jr. Miller, who was accompanied to his arraignment by a bail bondsman, posted bond immediately and has not been incarcerated at the jail. He’s due back in Ulster County Court on April 16.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.