JACK KEVORKIAN
Jack Kevorkian, M.D. (born Pontiac, Michigan, May 29, 1928), also known as "Dr.
Death" is a controversial American pathologist. He is most noted for publicly
championing a terminal patient's "right to die" and claims to have assisted at
least 130 patients to that end. He is famous for his quote "dying is not a crime."
Imprisoned in 1999, he is currently serving out a 10 to 25 year prison sentence
for second-degree murder in the 1998 poisoning of Thomas Youk, 52, of Oakland
County, Michigan. He will be paroled in Michigan in June 2007.
Kevorkian started advertising in Detroit papers in 1987 as a physician
consultant for "death counseling." Between 1990 and 1998, Kevorkian assisted in
the suicide of nearly one hundred terminally ill people, according to his lawyer
Geoffrey Fieger. In each of these cases, the individuals themselves took the
final action which resulted in their own deaths: voluntary euthanasia. Dr.
Kevorkian allegedly assisted only by attaching the individual to a device that
he had made. The individual then pushed a button which released the drugs or
chemicals that would end his or her own life. Two deaths were assisted by means
of a device which employed a needle and delivered the euthanizing drugs
mechanically through an IV. Kevorkian called it a "Thanatron" (death machine).
Other patients were assisted by a device which employed a gas mask fed by a
canister of carbon monoxide which was called "Mercitron" (mercy machine). This
became necessary because Kevorkian's medical license had been revoked after the
first two deaths, and he could no longer get the substances required for "Thanatron".
On the November 24, 1998 broadcast of 60 Minutes, Kevorkian allowed the airing
of a videotape he had made on September 17, 1998, which featured the voluntary
euthanasia of Thomas Youk, an adult male with full decisional capacity who was
in the final stages of ALS. After Youk provided his fully-informed consent on
September 17, 1998, Kevorkian administered a lethal injection. This was novel to
other patients as Kevorkian administered the injection himself as opposed to
having Youk complete the process. This incited the district attorney to bring
murder charges against him, claiming that Kevorkian single-handedly caused the
death. Kevorkian filmed the procedure and the death and submitted it for
broadcast on "60 Minutes."
During much of this period, Kevorkian was represented by attorney Geoffrey
Fieger.
Conviction and imprisonment
Kevorkian was tried numerous times over the years for assisting in suicides.
Many of these trials took place in Oakland County, Michigan. In every instance
prior to the Thomas Youk case, Kevorkian was acquitted.
Kevorkian was even beginning to gain some public support for his cause, as is
evidenced by the defeat of Oakland County prosecutor Richard Thompson to David
Gorcyca in the Republican primary. The result of the political election was
attributed, in part, to the declining public support from the prosecution of
Kevorkian and its associated legal expenses.
Kevorkian also demonstrated a flair for dramatic publicity stunts at this time,
showing up to one trial in a powdered wig and protesting an incarceration
pursuant to another trial by staging a hunger strike. He also wore a placard
challenging the Oakland County prosecutor to bring him to trial for the death of
Youk.
On March 26, 1999, Kevorkian was charged with second-degree homicide and also
for the delivery of a controlled substance (administering a lethal injection to
Thomas Youk). Unlike the prior trials involving an area of law in flux (assisted
suicide), the law of homicide is relatively fixed and routine. Kevorkian,
however, discharged his attorneys and proceeded through the trial pro se (representing
himself). The judge ordered a criminal defense attorney to remain available at
trial for information and advice. Inexperienced in law and persisting in his
efforts to appear pro se, Kevorkian encountered great difficulty in presenting
his evidence and arguments.
The Michigan jury found Kevorkian guilty of second-degree homicide. It was
proven that he had directly killed a person because his patient was not
physically able to kill himself. He is currently in prison in Coldwater,
Michigan, serving a 10-to-25-year sentence.
In the course of the various proceedings, Kevorkian made statements under oath
and to the press that he considered it his duty to assist persons in their death.
He also indicated under oath that because he thought laws to the contrary were
archaic and unjust, he would persist in civil disobedience, even under threat of
criminal punishment. Future intent to commit crimes, of course, is an element
courts and parole boards may consider in deciding whether to grant a convicted
person relief. Since his conviction (and subsequent losses on appeal), Kevorkian
has been denied parole repeatedly.
In an MSNBC interview aired on September 29, 2005, Kevorkian said that if he
were granted parole, he would not resume directly helping people die and would
restrict himself to campaigning to have the law changed. On December 22, 2005,
Kevorkian was denied parole by a board on the count of 7-2 recommending not to
give parole.
In a recent interview in ABC News, Kevorkian's lawyer stated that Kevorkian is
terminally ill with Hepatitis C, which he contracted during research into blood
transfusions and is expected to pass away within a year. Kevorkian had applied
for a pardon, parole, or commutation by the parole board or Governor Jennifer
Granholm, and on December 13, 2006 it was announced that he would be paroled on
June 1, 2007.
Jack Kevorkian, M.D. (born Pontiac, Michigan, May 29, 1928), also known as "Dr.
Death" is a controversial American pathologist. He is most noted for publicly
championing a terminal patient's "right to die" and claims to have assisted at
least 130 patients to that end. He is famous for his quote "dying is not a crime."
Imprisoned in 1999, he is currently serving out a 10 to 25 year prison sentence
for second-degree murder in the 1998 poisoning of Thomas Youk, 52, of Oakland
County, Michigan. He will be paroled in Michigan in June 2007.
Kevorkian started advertising in Detroit papers in 1987 as a physician
consultant for "death counseling." Between 1990 and 1998, Kevorkian assisted in
the suicide of nearly one hundred terminally ill people, according to his lawyer
Geoffrey Fieger. In each of these cases, the individuals themselves took the
final action which resulted in their own deaths: voluntary euthanasia. Dr.
Kevorkian allegedly assisted only by attaching the individual to a device that
he had made. The individual then pushed a button which released the drugs or
chemicals that would end his or her own life. Two deaths were assisted by means
of a device which employed a needle and delivered the euthanizing drugs
mechanically through an IV. Kevorkian called it a "Thanatron" (death machine).
Other patients were assisted by a device which employed a gas mask fed by a
canister of carbon monoxide which was called "Mercitron" (mercy machine). This
became necessary because Kevorkian's medical license had been revoked after the
first two deaths, and he could no longer get the substances required for "Thanatron".
On the November 24, 1998 broadcast of 60 Minutes, Kevorkian allowed the airing
of a videotape he had made on September 17, 1998, which featured the voluntary
euthanasia of Thomas Youk, an adult male with full decisional capacity who was
in the final stages of ALS. After Youk provided his fully-informed consent on
September 17, 1998, Kevorkian administered a lethal injection. This was novel to
other patients as Kevorkian administered the injection himself as opposed to
having Youk complete the process. This incited the district attorney to bring
murder charges against him, claiming that Kevorkian single-handedly caused the
death. Kevorkian filmed the procedure and the death and submitted it for
broadcast on "60 Minutes."
During much of this period, Kevorkian was represented by attorney Geoffrey
Fieger.
Conviction and imprisonment
Kevorkian was tried numerous times over the years for assisting in suicides.
Many of these trials took place in Oakland County, Michigan. In every instance
prior to the Thomas Youk case, Kevorkian was acquitted.
Kevorkian was even beginning to gain some public support for his cause, as is
evidenced by the defeat of Oakland County prosecutor Richard Thompson to David
Gorcyca in the Republican primary. The result of the political election was
attributed, in part, to the declining public support from the prosecution of
Kevorkian and its associated legal expenses.
Kevorkian also demonstrated a flair for dramatic publicity stunts at this time,
showing up to one trial in a powdered wig and protesting an incarceration
pursuant to another trial by staging a hunger strike. He also wore a placard
challenging the Oakland County prosecutor to bring him to trial for the death of
Youk.
On March 26, 1999, Kevorkian was charged with second-degree homicide and also
for the delivery of a controlled substance (administering a lethal injection to
Thomas Youk). Unlike the prior trials involving an area of law in flux (assisted
suicide), the law of homicide is relatively fixed and routine. Kevorkian,
however, discharged his attorneys and proceeded through the trial pro se (representing
himself). The judge ordered a criminal defense attorney to remain available at
trial for information and advice. Inexperienced in law and persisting in his
efforts to appear pro se, Kevorkian encountered great difficulty in presenting
his evidence and arguments.
The Michigan jury found Kevorkian guilty of second-degree homicide. It was
proven that he had directly killed a person because his patient was not
physically able to kill himself. He is currently in prison in Coldwater,
Michigan, serving a 10-to-25-year sentence.
In the course of the various proceedings, Kevorkian made statements under oath
and to the press that he considered it his duty to assist persons in their death.
He also indicated under oath that because he thought laws to the contrary were
archaic and unjust, he would persist in civil disobedience, even under threat of
criminal punishment. Future intent to commit crimes, of course, is an element
courts and parole boards may consider in deciding whether to grant a convicted
person relief. Since his conviction (and subsequent losses on appeal), Kevorkian
has been denied parole repeatedly.
In an MSNBC interview aired on September 29, 2005, Kevorkian said that if he
were granted parole, he would not resume directly helping people die and would
restrict himself to campaigning to have the law changed. On December 22, 2005,
Kevorkian was denied parole by a board on the count of 7-2 recommending not to
give parole.
In a recent interview in ABC News, Kevorkian's lawyer stated that Kevorkian is
terminally ill with Hepatitis C, which he contracted during research into blood
transfusions and is expected to pass away within a year. Kevorkian had applied
for a pardon, parole, or commutation by the parole board or Governor Jennifer
Granholm, and on December 13, 2006 it was announced that he would be paroled on
June 1, 2007.