Jack Kevorkian

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Jack Kevorkian (January 2011)

Jack Kevorkian (born May 26, 1928 in Pontiac , Michigan , † June 3, 2011 in Royal Oak , Michigan) was an American pathologist .

He became known for his vigorous struggle for the “right to die”, in which he claims to have supported more than 130 people in their suicide . After giving a fatal injection to a terminally ill patient, he was sentenced in 1999 to 10 to 25 years imprisonment for manslaughter. Since Kevorkian himself suffered from an incurable disease, he was released early from prison on June 1, 2007.

Life

Kevorkian graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in medicine in 1952 . In the years that followed, he published several articles in professional journals, including the results of his research on those sentenced to death during their execution and studies of blood transfusions from corpses to living patients. In a publication he was then referred to as "Doctor Death". From 1970 to 1976 he was director of the pathology department at the Saratoga Clinic in Detroit .

In the 1980s, Kevorkian wrote a series of articles for Medicine and Law magazine , in which he discussed ethical aspects of euthanasia . In 1987 he placed ads in Detroit newspapers offering himself as a "medical advisor" on euthanasia. According to his lawyer, he helped almost 100 people with incurable diseases commit suicide between 1990 and 1998. In each of these cases, the victims would have carried out the act that led to their death.

Kevorkian provided his patients with a device that allows the infusion of thiopental and potassium chloride to be delayed . After the first two deaths of this kind, his license to practice medicine was withdrawn in 1991, so that he could no longer get the substances he needed. In the subsequent killings, he therefore procured a gas mask and a canister of carbon monoxide for the patient . He has been charged with homicide four times and acquitted, and the case has been dropped once.

In 1998, Kevorkian allowed a television station to broadcast a video showing how he gave a fatal injection to a 52-year-old who was in the final stages of the nervous disease ALS . According to Kevorkian, he was trying to set a legal precedent to legalize medical-assisted suicide. For this act, he was charged on March 26, 1999, with manslaughter and violation of the Narcotics Act. He was found guilty and sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison.

In late 2006, Kevorkian's request for parole was granted; he was released on June 1, 2007, on two-year probation. He had been infected with hepatitis C while doing blood transfusion research and had a short life expectancy. He also made it plausible that he would never again want to actively assist euthanasia.

Others

In the film A Life for Death , Kevorkian was portrayed by Al Pacino , who received an Emmy and a Golden Globe for it .

The book God bless you, Dr. Kevorkian (English God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian ) by Kurt Vonnegut is based on the idea that the author of Kevorkian gets access to heaven to interview celebrities who have died there.

Jack Kevorkian has been the theme of several songs by bands, mainly from the metal genre. The band Body Count released a song called Dr.K on their album Violent Demise - The Last Days , in which the subject of suicide is thematized, the band Anal Cunt released the song Jack Kevorkian Is Cool and Acid Bath used a song painted by Jack Kevorkian Image as the album cover of Paegan Terrorism Tactics . The electro-industrial band Grid has changed its name to Kevorkian Death Cycle . Kevorkian received further treatment in the song Doctor Kevorkian by Anvil .

In the computer game Deus Ex: Human Revolution , performing a euthanasia on a fatally wounded character is rewarded with the achievement "Kevorkian Complex" in a side quest. And in the computer game Postal , the player receives the ironic achievement “How Kevorkian!” When he executes the first of his victims to be shot down. Likewise, in the computer game Lucius, the player's assistance in three suicides is rewarded with the achievement "Dr. Kevorkian".

bibliography

literature

Web links

Commons : Jack Kevorkian  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dr. Death Jack Kevorkian dies at 83 on panarmenian.net, June 3, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Kevorkian, Jack
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American pathologist and suicide helper
DATE OF BIRTH May 26, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Pontiac , Michigan, USA
DATE OF DEATH June 3, 2011
Place of death Royal Oak , Michigan, USA