Jack Kevorkian(1928-2011)
Controversial pathologist, writer and inventor, Jack Kevorkian was the
only son of Levon Kevorkian a former auto-factory worker who owned an
excavating company and his homemaker wife. He had 2 sisters.
Kevorkian's parents were Armenian refugees, whose relatives were among
the 1.5 millon victims of Turkish atrocities in World War I. As a young
boy he quit Sunday school because he did not believe in Armenian
Orthodox teachings. He taught himself German and Japanese in high
school during World war II. Kevorkian graduated from Pontiac High
School with honors in 1945 at 17. He then enrolled at the University of
Michigan from where he graduated from Medical school in 1952. Kevorkian
completed an internship in Pathology at Henry Ford hospital in Detroit,
during which period he had an epiphany when he saw a woman who was
dying of cancer. It was then that he began to think of ways to
alleviate suffering in his patients. In 1953 he got his medical license
for Michighan state. He then did a 15 month stint in Korea as an Army
Medical Officer during the Korean War. He returned and completed his
residency at Pontiac General Hospital, Michigan. He got his nickname
'Dr. Death' in 1956 when he started photographing the retinas of
patients at the moment of death to differentiate between coma and
death. From 1956-57 he did research in West Germany. In 1957 he
obtained his California medical license. In 1958 he presented a paper
on 'Capital Punishment or Capital Gain' at the American Association for
the Advancement of Science' at Washington, DC. He suggested the
harvesting of organs from death row prisoners. This was considered
controversial because death row inmates don't necessarily have any
rights. By 1960 he was licensed in Pathological Anatomy and in 1965 in
Clinical Pathology. In April 1960 he testified before a Joint Judicial
Committee in Columbus, Ohio to revise the death penalty and to legalize
medical experimentation on condemned inmates. In 1976 he moved to Los
Angeles, California. He changed jobs frequently. Between 1982 to 86 he
mainly did his writing and research. In 1988, even the pro-suicide
Hemlock Society founder, Derek humphry rebuffed his methods as "too
perilous and risky". In 1989 after reading about a patient who had
asked for euthanasia he began working on a lethal-injection machine
that would be able to do the task at the 'flip of a switch'. It was
called the Thanatron (and later Mercitron). He got a lot of publicity
because of this. On June 4, 1990 he performed the first of his
'medicides' as he liked to call physician-assisted suicide. His
'client' was a 54 year old woman suffering from Alzheimer's. She had
contacted him herself after reading his ads in the papers. It was
performed in the back of his VW van. She received sodium pentothal (an
anesthetic) and potassium chloride (to stop the heart). By the time of
this 3rd medicide his medical licemse was revoked for violating
Michigan state laws regarding euthanasia. One of his 'clients' was even
found on autopsy not to have any major pathology. He continued to do
his medicides by giving his clients carbon-monoxide. There were reports
that one patient had asked her mask to be removed twice (maybe a change
of mind) but Kevorkian had continued with his task. On August 17, 1993
he was formally charged with violating the law. By then he had already
helped 20 clients to their peaceful deaths. He was jailed first in
November 1993 and then again in December 1993. Kevorkian went on a
liquid only fast for 18 days and was acquitted in May 1994. By now he
had even gained several supporters in the general community. By 1998 he
hed committed over 100 medicides. Relatives of some of his clients
claimed that he had continued despite protests from his 'victims'. He
was now charged with 2nd degree murder. During his trial he was
defended by the flamboyant lawyer Geoffrey Fieger. In March 1999 Dr.
Kevorkian was sentenced by a Michigan jury to 10-25 years for his
crime.
