Jack Kevorkian, Doctor Death
Jack Kevorkian, M.D., born on May 28, 1928 in Pontiac, Michigan, is an American pathologist, known for his ideas on euthanasia and ethics. Between 1990 and 1998 Kevorkian assisted in the suicide of 100 terminally ill people.
In 1987 Kevorkian started advertising in Detroit papers as a "physician consultant" for "death counseling", and in 1989 he built his "Thanatron" ("death machine") using $30 worth of scrap parts scrounged from garage sales and hardware stores. Dr. Kevorkian assisted his patients only by attaching the device to the individual who then pushed a button to release the lethal chemicals.
In 1991 the state Board of Medicine revoked Kevorkian's license to practice medicine in Michigan. Not able to get the substances required for "Thanatron", Kevorkian starts using the face masks to feed carbon monoxide to his patients.
Kevorkian was tried numerous times over the years for assisting in suicides, and was acquitted in every instance prior to March 26, 1999, when he was charged with second-degree murder for giving a lethal injection to Thomas Youk. Death of Thomas Youk, 52, who suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease, was shown by CBS's "60 Minutes".
Dr. Jack Kevorkian was sentenced to a 10-25 year prison term. He is currently in prison in Michigan, and will become eligible for parole in 2007.
Public Opinion on the Dr.
You may want to add some public opinion to this post. It’s important to note that at the time of Kevorkian’s conviction, the nation was divided on the issue (see the states here). Support for physician-assisted suicide has increased substantially over the past 50 years, and doctor-assisted suicide is now legal in Oregon. But surveys also find that results on this issue change depending on how the question is worded -- a classic sign that people are still working through their views on a problem (find this info here).