“Dr. Death” Jack Kevorkian Dies In Michigan Hospital

The doctor who became famous for his assistance in several suicides in the late 90s died today in Michigan. According to his attorney,  Kevorkian was in the hospital for a few weeks with kidney and heart issues. It appears Kevorkian suffered a pulmonary thrombosis when a blood clot in his leg dislodged and settled in his heart.Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder in 1999 and sentenced to 10-25 years in prison but was released in 2007.  While many labeled the doctor as a "hero," others considered him a "serial killer." In June 1990 he thrust himself onto the public stage by declaring his first assisted suicide in suburban Detroit. He helped a 54-year-old Oregon woman die in the back of his Volkswagen van with his so-called "suicide machine.

As time went on, it is documented that Kevorkian assisted nearly 120 other people in suicide type deaths. The doctor had become so famous with this practice that many ill patients were crossing the border seeking the doctor's assistance in their own death. Bodies were dropped off at hospital emergency rooms, left in motel rooms or homes where the deaths occurred, or found in vehicles parked outside Detroit-area morgues.

On numerous occasions Kevorkian openly challenged police, prosecutors and lawmakers, often calling them "Nazis" and "Gestapo." He also blasted religious authorities who criticized him and medical groups that opposed his position, especially the American Medical Association. The doctor felt what he was doing was always in the best interest of his "patients."

Kevorkian never married and once said in an interview his life was a failure. He said: "If I had married, I'd have kids -- kids and family are everything."