Kevorkian, Jack (c. 1928– )

US medical pathologist. He proposed that death-row inmates simply be rendered unconscious (instead of executed) so that their bodies could be used for certain medical experiments. By 1989 he had invented his first ‘suicide machine’ and on 4 June 1990 he used his apparatus to help a 54-year-old woman commit suicide. Using variations of his original apparatus, he thereafter proceeded to help a series of individuals commit suicide while defying the Michigan law passed specifically to stop him. He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 10–25 years in prison in 1999.

He was born in Pontiac, Michigan. He was dismissed from several medical institutions because of his controversial views. He wrote for European medical journals, often on issues regarding euthanasia. He gained the nickname ‘Dr Death’, along with immense publicity, but whatever his motives, manners, and methods, he was forcing several important issues onto the public stage.

He was convicted of second-degree murder in March 1999 by a jury in Detroit, Michigan. Kovorkian caused outrage when the CBS television programme 60 Minutes filmed him giving a lethal injection to Thomas Youk, a Lou Gehrig's disease victim, who first signed a consent form. In April Kevorkian received a sentence of 10–25 years in prison.