Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Dr. Jack Kevorkian to finally be released...

LANSING, Michigan (AP) -- After more than eight years in prison, a frail Dr. Jack Kevorkian will be paroled in June with a promise that he won't assist in any more suicides, a prison spokesman said Wednesday.

Leo Lalonde, the corrections spokesman, would not provide further details.

Kevorkian, once the nation's most vocal advocate of assisted suicide for the terminally ill, is serving a 10- to 25-year sentence for second-degree murder in the 1998 poisoning of Thomas Youk, 52, Oakland County man with Lou Gehrig's disease. Michigan banned assisted suicide in 1998.

Youk's death was videotaped and shown on CBS' "60 Minutes."

Kevorkian, who claimed to have assisted in at least 130 deaths in the 1990s, called it a mercy killing.

Mayer Morganroth, Kevorkian's attorney, said this summer that Kevorkian, now 78, was suffering from hepatitis C and diabetes, that his weight had dropped to 113 pounds and that he had less than a year to live.


An article that might be of interest to those wanting to read more about what led to Kevorkian's imprisonment.

6 comments:

Scott G said...

I am for assisted suicide if that is what the individual wants and jailing Kevorkian for helping was wrong in my opinion. If someone wants to do it, I would rather have it done humanely and openly than other means of suicide.

I wonder if Kevorkian will opt for assisted suicide. he could tape himself doing it and then send it to the parole board

Unknown said...

Sounds like he'll get out for a few months before he dies. I don't think he should have been in prison either. However all these years later we still haven't dealt with the issue of assisted suicide.

Scott G said...

We have been too bust deciding that a horribly painful and drawn out death is better than ending the suffering if that is what the person wants

Unknown said...

And not having the courage to stand up for the rights of those who want to die.

Anonymous said...

Thought you might be interested in some public opinion...It’s important to note that at the time of Kevorkian’s conviction, the nation was divided on the issue (see the states here: http://www.publicagenda.org/issues/major_proposals_detail.cfm?issue_type=right2die&list=12). 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: http://www.publicagenda.org/issues/red_flags.cfm?issue_type=right2die#wording).

Hooda Thunkit (Dave Zawodny) said...

And her I was thinking that Dr. Death just might enjoy a nice leafy green salad, with plenty of lettuce...

I do understand the need for doctor-assisted suicide, but within the law.

So, let's put it on the ballot.