Dr. Murad (Jack) Kevorkian
Dr. Murad (Jack) Kevorkian
Born: May 26, 1928 Pontiac, Michigan
Died: June 3, 2011 Royal Oak, Michigan
Dr. Kevorkian was an American physician who assisted in patient suicides. He created two suicide machines, the "Thanatron" and the "Mercitron" to assist in patient's suicides. During the 1990's Dr. Kevorkian launched a major controversial debate when he assisted 54-year old Janet Elaine Adkins in ending her life. Adkins had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and preferred to take her own life rather than slowly lose her mind. Kevorkian helped many terminally ill people to commit suicide and was charged repeatedly with murder but he was never convicted until 1999 after he injected Thomas Youk himself. The Michigan legislature specifically outlawed assisted suicide to stop Kevorkian but he ignored the laws. In November 1998, perhaps wanting to force the hand of the state, Kevorkian videotaped the death of one of his patients. Rather than setting up the equipment and having the patient activate it (as he had in previous suicides), he injected the patient with the lethal drugs himself. In April 1999 Kevorkian was found guilty of second-degree murder and was sentenced 10-25 years of imprisonment. Kevorkian was released on parole on June 1, 2007 after serving eight years of his 10-25 year sentence due to good behavior.
Born: May 26, 1928 Pontiac, Michigan
Died: June 3, 2011 Royal Oak, Michigan
Dr. Kevorkian was an American physician who assisted in patient suicides. He created two suicide machines, the "Thanatron" and the "Mercitron" to assist in patient's suicides. During the 1990's Dr. Kevorkian launched a major controversial debate when he assisted 54-year old Janet Elaine Adkins in ending her life. Adkins had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and preferred to take her own life rather than slowly lose her mind. Kevorkian helped many terminally ill people to commit suicide and was charged repeatedly with murder but he was never convicted until 1999 after he injected Thomas Youk himself. The Michigan legislature specifically outlawed assisted suicide to stop Kevorkian but he ignored the laws. In November 1998, perhaps wanting to force the hand of the state, Kevorkian videotaped the death of one of his patients. Rather than setting up the equipment and having the patient activate it (as he had in previous suicides), he injected the patient with the lethal drugs himself. In April 1999 Kevorkian was found guilty of second-degree murder and was sentenced 10-25 years of imprisonment. Kevorkian was released on parole on June 1, 2007 after serving eight years of his 10-25 year sentence due to good behavior.
During an interview with Mike Wallace, Kevorkian admitted he wanted prosecutors to put him on trial again. "I've got to force them to act," he said. "They must charge me. Because if they do not, that means they don't think it was a crime."
-Dr. Jack Kevorkian 1998
-Dr. Jack Kevorkian 1998
He has dismissed his critics as "brainwashed ethicists," "nonthinking physicians," and "religious nuts," and scoffed at the idea that his invention would encourage people to kill themselves. "They already do that," he pointed out to Lisa Belkin in the New York Times. "They jump out of buildings, they blow their brains out, they drink lye. Is that better?... My ultimate aim is to make euthanasia a positive experience. I'm trying to knock the medical profession into accepting its responsibilities, and those responsibilities include assisting their patients with death."
(Chicago Tribune 1990)
(Chicago Tribune 1990)
"I wouldn't have started if I thought I was going to regret it. I knew what I was stepping into. I knew I was getting into one of the most illegal things in the world. It was the right thing to do. ... That doesn't mean I'm stronger than most people. It just means I'm loonier."
-Dr. Jack Kevorkian 2010
-Dr. Jack Kevorkian 2010