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Detroit Free Press, MI
June 3 2011
A time line of Jack Kevorkian's life
6:38 PM, Jun. 3, 2011
1928: Jack Kevorkian is born May 26 in Pontiac. Named Murad Kevorkian
at birth by his Armenian immigrant parents, he is the first of his
family to attend college.
1952: Kevorkian receives his medical degree from the University of Michigan.
1956: Kevorkian earns the moniker Dr. Death when he conducts a study
photographing patients' eyes as they died. Results show blood vessels
in the cornea contract and become invisible as the heart stops
beating.
1958: Kevorkian authors a paper suggesting death row inmates be
euthanized and their bodily organs harvested.
1989: Kevorkian publicly announces he has created a `suicide machine'
that allows terminally ill patients to kill themselves in a humane and
painless way. Oakland County Prosecutor Gerald Poisson says someone
providing such a device could be charged with murder.
1990: In his first assisted suicide, Kevorkian uses the machine on
Janet Adkins, 54, of Portland, Ore. The Alzheimer's patient dies June
4 in Kevorkian's van in Groveland Oaks Park. Oakland County Circuit
Judge Alice Gilbert issues a temporary restraining order against him
several days later, prohibiting him from building or operating suicide
machines. He is later charged with first-degree murder in Adkins'
death, but a judge rules prosecutors failed to show Kevorkian had
planned and carried out Adkins's death.
1991: Kevorkian leads police to two women who he says committed an
assisted suicide at a secluded Oakland County cabin. Meanwhile,
lawmakers are debating legislation banning assisted suicide in
Michigan. The state Board of Medicine yanks Kevorkian's medical
license, and he sues to get it back.
1992: Kevorkian is charged with murder in the women's deaths, but the
charges are thrown out. The Michigan Legislature passes a bill
outlawing assisted suicide, designed specifically to stop Kevorkian's
activities
1993: Kevorkian is charged with assisting in the death of Thomas W.
Hyde Jr. Kevorkian is jailed twice that year, and during his second
jail stay, he embarks on an 18-day fast. His bail is reduced and is
paid by Geoffrey Fieger, who gains national notoriety as Kevorkian's
lawyer. Kevorkian is found not guilty in Hyde's death.
1994-1995: The Michigan Supreme Court upholds the law that made
assisted suicide a crime, and the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear
Kevorkian's appeal.
1996: Kevorkian continues to assist in suicides, later revealing he
was involved in about 130 deaths. Kevorkian is again charged with
murder and is acquitted.
1998: Kevorkian allows CBS's `60 Minutes' to tape the lethal injection
of Thomas Youk, a patient who was suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease.
Oakland County prosecutors bring a second-degree murder charge against
Kevorkian, who served as his own counsel in his trial.
1999: An Oakland County jury convicts Kevorkian of second-degree
murder and illegal delivery of a controlled substance. He is sentenced
to 10 to 25 years in prison.
2000-2003: Kevorkian appeals the conviction. The Michigan Court of
Appeals affirms it, and the Michigan Supreme Court declines to review
the appellate court's decision. Kevorkian seeks to appeal the case to
the U.S. Supreme Court, but it declines to review the case.
2007: Kevorkian, arguing that he is seriously ill, is paroled in June
after serving eight years in prison.
2009: Kevorkian makes national headlines when he defends Michael
Jackson's physician in September. Dr. Conrad Murray was being
investigated after the singer's June death.
2010: `You Don't Know Jack,' HBO's biopic on Kevorkian starring Al
Pacino, is released in the spring. It later picks up 16 Emmy
nominations in 15 categories, including outstanding made-for-TV movie.
Pacino wins an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award
for his portrayal of Kevorkian.
2011: Kevorkian, who never married, is hospitalized several times with
kidney and heart problems. He dies June 3 at age 83 at Beaumont
Hospital in Royal Oak.
http://www.freep.com/article/20110603/NEWS06/110603037/A-time-line-Jack-Kevorkian-s-life
From: A. Papazian
June 3 2011
A time line of Jack Kevorkian's life
6:38 PM, Jun. 3, 2011
1928: Jack Kevorkian is born May 26 in Pontiac. Named Murad Kevorkian
at birth by his Armenian immigrant parents, he is the first of his
family to attend college.
1952: Kevorkian receives his medical degree from the University of Michigan.
1956: Kevorkian earns the moniker Dr. Death when he conducts a study
photographing patients' eyes as they died. Results show blood vessels
in the cornea contract and become invisible as the heart stops
beating.
1958: Kevorkian authors a paper suggesting death row inmates be
euthanized and their bodily organs harvested.
1989: Kevorkian publicly announces he has created a `suicide machine'
that allows terminally ill patients to kill themselves in a humane and
painless way. Oakland County Prosecutor Gerald Poisson says someone
providing such a device could be charged with murder.
1990: In his first assisted suicide, Kevorkian uses the machine on
Janet Adkins, 54, of Portland, Ore. The Alzheimer's patient dies June
4 in Kevorkian's van in Groveland Oaks Park. Oakland County Circuit
Judge Alice Gilbert issues a temporary restraining order against him
several days later, prohibiting him from building or operating suicide
machines. He is later charged with first-degree murder in Adkins'
death, but a judge rules prosecutors failed to show Kevorkian had
planned and carried out Adkins's death.
1991: Kevorkian leads police to two women who he says committed an
assisted suicide at a secluded Oakland County cabin. Meanwhile,
lawmakers are debating legislation banning assisted suicide in
Michigan. The state Board of Medicine yanks Kevorkian's medical
license, and he sues to get it back.
1992: Kevorkian is charged with murder in the women's deaths, but the
charges are thrown out. The Michigan Legislature passes a bill
outlawing assisted suicide, designed specifically to stop Kevorkian's
activities
1993: Kevorkian is charged with assisting in the death of Thomas W.
Hyde Jr. Kevorkian is jailed twice that year, and during his second
jail stay, he embarks on an 18-day fast. His bail is reduced and is
paid by Geoffrey Fieger, who gains national notoriety as Kevorkian's
lawyer. Kevorkian is found not guilty in Hyde's death.
1994-1995: The Michigan Supreme Court upholds the law that made
assisted suicide a crime, and the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear
Kevorkian's appeal.
1996: Kevorkian continues to assist in suicides, later revealing he
was involved in about 130 deaths. Kevorkian is again charged with
murder and is acquitted.
1998: Kevorkian allows CBS's `60 Minutes' to tape the lethal injection
of Thomas Youk, a patient who was suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease.
Oakland County prosecutors bring a second-degree murder charge against
Kevorkian, who served as his own counsel in his trial.
1999: An Oakland County jury convicts Kevorkian of second-degree
murder and illegal delivery of a controlled substance. He is sentenced
to 10 to 25 years in prison.
2000-2003: Kevorkian appeals the conviction. The Michigan Court of
Appeals affirms it, and the Michigan Supreme Court declines to review
the appellate court's decision. Kevorkian seeks to appeal the case to
the U.S. Supreme Court, but it declines to review the case.
2007: Kevorkian, arguing that he is seriously ill, is paroled in June
after serving eight years in prison.
2009: Kevorkian makes national headlines when he defends Michael
Jackson's physician in September. Dr. Conrad Murray was being
investigated after the singer's June death.
2010: `You Don't Know Jack,' HBO's biopic on Kevorkian starring Al
Pacino, is released in the spring. It later picks up 16 Emmy
nominations in 15 categories, including outstanding made-for-TV movie.
Pacino wins an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award
for his portrayal of Kevorkian.
2011: Kevorkian, who never married, is hospitalized several times with
kidney and heart problems. He dies June 3 at age 83 at Beaumont
Hospital in Royal Oak.
http://www.freep.com/article/20110603/NEWS06/110603037/A-time-line-Jack-Kevorkian-s-life
From: A. Papazian