The murderer Jack Kevorkian was imprisoned for lethally injecting Thomas Youk, who had Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was prosecuted because, egotist that he is, he video taped himself doing it and brought it to euthanasia fan Mike Wallace for airing on 60 Minutes. That was even too much for the Oakland County, MI prosecutor, who had won office on a plank of letting Kevorkian be Kevorkian–not knowing just how depraved K could be, as in taking kidneys from Joseph Tushkowski after an assisted suicide and offering them at a news conference. Plus, there was Kevorkian’s obsession with human vivisection, but I won’t replay the entire litany here. If you want more details, hit this link.
It was always thought that Kevorkian only injected Youk. Not according to Kevorkian. From the interview:
KING: What did you do?
KEVORKIAN: I did the injection [of Youk].
KING: Usually they kill themselves, right? So, that was not pure suicide.
KEVORKIAN: No. I did the first one too, [Janet] Adkins, the first case. After that, we had the method where the patient could trigger it themselves.
Adkins had early Alzheimer’s disease, meaning she had many years left of life, and in fact, played tennis with her sons a few days before her apparent murder.
So, Kevorkian has admitted he’s a repeat murderer. Technically, since there is no statute of limitations for murder, he could be prosecuted for Atkins’ homicide. Instead, he’ll keep getting high level interviews, movies made about him starring Al Pacino, and $50,000 speaking fees at state funded universities. We sure do have a twisted love for outlaws in this country.
June 21st, 2010 | 4:13 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Vince Humphreys, Dan Collins and Stand In The Gap, Wesley J. Smith. Wesley J. Smith said: Jack Kevorkian Admits to Committing Second Murder on Larry King » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog http://shar.es/mKE3u [...]
June 21st, 2010 | 5:34 pm
Just a thought for pondering:
“Outlaw” is a term I interpret as having synonymous meaning with “renegade hero”.
“M” words like “miscreant”, “misanthrope” and “psychotic” (ok, that’s a “p” word :-) ) fit…but how about the classic “murderer”? ‘Tis strong, clearly understood and ever so accurate. Add “malicious” and perhaps, “maladjusted” as adjectives before “murderer” and there you have it! IMHO, that fits him quite well!
June 21st, 2010 | 6:33 pm
The Link that you highlighted to illuminate Kervorkians supposed “depravity” doesnt work. Got another?
June 21st, 2010 | 6:58 pm
It’s fixed. It starts with Kevorkian wanting to do human experimentation on prisoners being executed and goes on from there.
June 21st, 2010 | 6:58 pm
Indeed.
June 21st, 2010 | 7:53 pm
This is absolutely revolting stuff.
Here we see how human beings can go off a moral cliff very fast when the sanctity of life is destroyed.
Sometimes reading this blog is like watching a live horror movie from the Western society.
June 21st, 2010 | 9:13 pm
Marlus: And I don’t write about everything I find. I hope to alert people to the evil that this way comes so it can be turned back.
June 21st, 2010 | 11:21 pm
Thanks for posting this! I heard about the interview on another blog but did not have the chance yet to watch it. The more I learn about Kevorkian the more he astonishes me.
June 22nd, 2010 | 7:33 pm
Pure suicide, assisted suicide, doesn’t matter. It’s still suicide. Not murder.
June 22nd, 2010 | 10:50 pm
Josh, did you READ the piece? Kevorkian admitted injecting Adkins. That means he took the final act leading to death. If he did, it’s murder, just as it was with Thomas Youk. One cannot legally consent to be murdered.
June 23rd, 2010 | 6:23 am
Murder is the wrong term, since the element of malice is missing in the case of a mutual agreement. Manslaughter would be more appropriate, even if it doesn’t make as good copy.
June 23rd, 2010 | 8:42 am
That’s not true, History Writer. Malice doesn’t mean hatred or in the legal sense. It is the intent to end the life of another without justification in law. That’s why Kevorkian was convicted of second degree murder for killing Youk. First degree murder is with malice aforethought, that is, it was planned and deliberated. That is what Kevorkian should have been convicted of.
June 23rd, 2010 | 2:28 pm
[...] Friday, Kevorkian told Larry King on CNN’s Larry King Live that he directly killed Janet Adkins in June 1990, [...]
June 24th, 2010 | 12:05 am
What is it with serial liars like you who keep besmirching the good name of Dr. Kevorkian? You are the one who is truly sick and demented for bringing down the closest thing we have to someone as Christ-like as Dr. Kevorkian.
June 25th, 2010 | 2:53 pm
[...] Things are so bad that American assisted suicide pioneer and convicted murderer Jack Kevorkian can admit to a second murder on national television and hardly anyone blinks an eye because, well, it’s what the patient wanted, after [...]
June 26th, 2010 | 3:46 pm
I cannot believe all the hypocrites in this board… All of you wouldn’t feel so infuriated if it was you suffering from a terrible disease and being completely powerless… what a bunch of wackos! this website is insulting, terrifying and belligerent…How dare any of you deny a suffering person the right to end his pain… [Foul expletive deleted--I don't allow that kind of language here, Ed] you’re all a bunch of psychos! Dark Ages indeed… its like Dr. Kevorkian said, completely obstructed by religion and dogma… stop being sheep and concern yourselves with real life issues and not make believe…
June 26th, 2010 | 7:28 pm
I don’t think you can murder somebody who wants to die. That is, I think it’s entirely justified to end somebody’s life if they wish it to end.
The ONLY thing wrong with death is being forced into it against your will.
June 26th, 2010 | 7:30 pm
Well, that’s not the law. One cannot consent to murder. It is bad for society.
June 26th, 2010 | 7:34 pm
Ed: Well, everything said here about K is true, your rant notwithstanding to the contrary. I guess you support his doing human vivisection? I know it isn’t in this post, but look it up in the search engine. You’ll find it.
June 28th, 2010 | 12:17 am
It’s truly sad that our society it morally outraged at the thought of easing an individual’s suffering. We treat animals with more dignity than those afflicted by terminal illness. Having just spent an entire weekend watching my grandfather die slowly, all major organs shutting down, “death rattle”…words can not express the utter regret that there aren’t more men like the honorable Dr. Jack Kevorkian. As to his experiments? I wonder what the general consensus was when someone mentioned organ transplant for the 1st time when it wasn’t the norm. Anyone that thinks poorly of an individual that wishes to let humans have the same right as animals deserves to have an experience like I just had to change outlook. Ignorance can only be cured by exposure to true human suffering.
June 28th, 2010 | 9:25 am
T R. Meredith: He wanted to study the brain and nervous system so he could figure out what death is. He’s a quack. But your embrace of a quack and a ghoul shows a lot about what has gone wrong in society.
June 29th, 2010 | 1:31 pm
It’s not “murder” when we put convicted criminals to death against their will, but it’s “murder” when a licensed doctor assists a suffering human being, in accordance with his or her will, to help end his or her suffering.
Dr. Kevorkian is a pioneer. Some day when our society exits from the dark ages, he will be venerated as the lone voice of reason and humanity in his time.
And BTW, I watched the documentary about him last night. It’s clear that the man rests on logic and reason in everything that he does. I can see that those are alien concepts to the writers and most of the readers of this blog.
June 29th, 2010 | 2:09 pm
That is correct. One is done under the rule of law. The other was a private killing by an unlicensed doctor–his was stripped–who had never treated patients after residency because he was a pathologist. A doctor who didn ‘t know the “patients,” had never treated the patients, and was there only to make them dead. Lethally injecting them was murder, as the jury found in Youk, and would almost surely have found in Adkins had K told the truth about that killing when it happened. He wants to vivisect people, Phantom. You are willingly swallowing propaganda that obscures who K really is.
June 29th, 2010 | 2:28 pm
what has gone wrong in society is the intollerance of some for the rights of others. Who has’nt wanted to understand death or what-if anything-exists after? Deciding to end the horrific suffering of your terminal disease should be the individual’s choice. The ones who do not wish to choose their death may freely continue till the bitter excruciating and humiliating end, its their choice, but by the same token, the ones who prefer to end their suffering in a more dignified manner, should be afforded the same right.Why should the one side have the right to choose what they want, but the other denied ??
Kevorkian did not “kill” mentally retarded people or people who wanted to live-he did not rock up at peoples homes and gas them/inject them unexpectedly or by force.They had requested assistance with their death,choosing not to wait for the dreadful end.I hope that if i am ever unfortunate enough to be in a dreadful situation like that, terminal,in pain and agony,unable to end it by myself, someone will be there to help me to a dignified and peaceful end.A good death is as much a right as a good life.
June 29th, 2010 | 2:34 pm
artemis: The only reason I am responding to this nonsense is because it is so outlandishly wrong. First, K’s “patients” were not in that kind of suffering, and indeed, he wouldn’t know what to do if they were. He was not a treating doctor, he was a pathologist. Second, five of the people who went to him weren’t sick. Most weren’t terminally ill. The vast majority were disabled and depressed. Oregon’s assisted suicide also does not involve the kind of agony you are pushing. Palliative techniques can prevent what you claim to fear. There is no right to be in a conspiracy to make someone dead.
June 29th, 2010 | 3:50 pm
j.smith- you are one of those people who are totally intolerant to anyone who doesnt bow down to your own particular brand of morality. Since when is Oregon and its laws the centre of the world? As it happens there are other parts of the world, such as canada, switzerland,Denmark etc that actually have laws permitting the very thing you seem to have such a problem with- and please: k’s patients were most certainly suffering which is why he was actually not found guilty till he did the injection and the lawyers very cleverly dropped the assisted suicide charge and got him on murder( 2nd degree)-in Oregon.. in countries where euthanasia/assisted suicide is legal it would have been a different story. Be that as it may however, people have different views about life, death and everything in between and it’s intolerance like yours that causes the worst problems facing people-who cares if you agree or not, its has nothing to do with you .Everyone has the right to decide how they wish to die when they are terminal, besides, the real issue is not Kevorkian, its euthanasia. If you dont agree with it, that’s fine.But others do, and they have the right to believe what they want- just like you do. Bigotry is a greater problem- thankfully there are others that are more open minded and accepting of different views, hence the many countries with different laws to Oregon!!!
June 29th, 2010 | 5:00 pm
As I said, intolerance for different opinions is a major problem. You have a problem with anyone who does not abide to your particular brand of morality. “not that kind of suffering”??? what type of suffering does or does not entitle one to have the right to choose to end their life or not, and who are you to dictate that decision? Oregon is not the centre of the world or its laws divine and as it happens there are many places that have exactly those laws you seem to have a problem with- Canada, switzerland denmark etc. K’s patients wanted to end their life and you dont have to be terminal to suffer beyond your endurance. they could’nt get him on assisted suicide so the lawyers cleverly dropped that charge to get him on the “murder”- in oregon. Had this happened in one of the countries that support euthanasia, it would have been a different story. We do not all subscribe to your particular type of belief- people have different opinions on life, death and everything in between and a dogmatic point of view is never a good one, as it’s always narrow minded and one sided. If you wish to take palliative measures should it ever be necessary, it’s your choice. Don’t try force your choices and opinions on others- we are not all from oregon. To you it may seem a “conspiracy to make one dead” to others it’s a dignity and a kindness. I’ ve watched a loved one die a horrid death where your “paliatives” put them in a helpless thrashing coma helpless to do even the most basic functions for themselves. I cleaned the soiled bed, listened helplessly to morphine raves and watched hopelessly while this vibrant, intelligent person deteriorated into something less than human, gasping for breath. She would have died a thousand deaths if she had known this and who knows now, how much she realised at the time? What you would do in her case is your affair and I have no argument with your choices- But dont try and tell me what is “right”!!!! Your opinion is just that-an opinion. The issue is not Dr.K, it’s euthanasia and the kindness it offers to many who believe differently from you.
June 29th, 2010 | 5:40 pm
Let’s see artemis: In the Netherlands doctors commit infanticide on babies born with disabilities. In Belgium, nurses kill patients who haven’t asked to be died. It isn’t legal in Canada, and in fact was badly defeated a few weeks ago. In Switzerland, the supreme court created a right to assisted suicide for the mentally ill. In Oregon a woman who wanted chemo for advanced lung cancer was refused by Medicaid but offered assisted suicide instead. Very kind.
June 30th, 2010 | 7:11 am
Earlier on ,you were very comfortable with state killings of inmates (answer to phantom) because it is done under the rule of “law”. When “infanticide” is done under the rule of a different law, you have a problem!! You actually made a good case why laws, although necessary, cannot be seen as some inviolate holy grail for society and that’s why they get passed and abolished as societal perceptions change.No, the laws are not perfect, no,euthanasia, (passive or aggressive)/assisted suicide is not for everyone and yes, it’s a sensitive issue whose right or wrong depends on which side you look at it.A study showed and I quote “Studies have shown that highly educated people and people who highly value autonomy as well as people living in a country with a stronger than average attachment to autonomy, show a more favourable attitude towards euthanasia.”That’s why ,mate,we should not be so dogmatic and self righteous in our judgements.I hope you never have to face a choice of life or death and I hope I never have to encounter your version of “kindness” if ever I do. END.
July 7th, 2010 | 11:41 am
I am shocked at how many people are against assisted suicide. Perhaps you have no empathy for those in pain, or ever watched someone you love die of cancer or some other horrible disease.
I saw my grandmother die of gang greene, my grandfather die of cancer. I saw them throwing up, not being able to eat, crying in pain. I would not want to go through the suffering that they did. Maybe I won’t choose that option when it comes my time, and I hope I won’t want to, but I would like the choice to be mine.
I see that all comments are held for moderation, perhaps thats why I see such an outpouring of people that think this is murder rather than a humane way of ending ones life.
July 7th, 2010 | 12:29 pm
I praise Dr. Kevorkian for his courage to stand up for BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS. The right to have individual self-determination about one’s own body.
That is not murdering anyone, he is doing his duty as a doctor to end a patients suffering at the request of the patient. Making up false claims about his intentions only makes you look ignorant. No god or government has the right to control the individual who is not harming others, that is the point of free-will. His patients were suffering, terminally ill people who requested his help.
The world is a better place because of him. Thank you Dr. Kevorkian
July 12th, 2010 | 2:35 am
John is right, Wesley is a whack job. Dr. Kevorkian is a luminary; sheer genius.
July 13th, 2010 | 9:34 pm
Kevorkian has the right idea but I think that his tactics became too much of a side-show as opposed to something as serious as death. I also understand his reasons for acting this way, I believe he was so positive in his way of thinking he became intolerant of any opposition. Thusly he became irrational and appeared cold and insensative at the end. He wasn’t a young man at the beginning and I’m sure that he felt time was running out and he made numerous mistakes.
I know that courageous Doctors have been helping people die forever and will continue to do without permission or fanfare. But it would be wonderful for human euthanasia to be legal in America in my life time, there is way too much needless suffering going on in this country.
Perhaps now that new health benefits or the lack of, have been voted in (not in favor of the elderly, for sure) the Supreme Court will take another look at Kevorkians mercifull way out.
July 16th, 2010 | 10:01 pm
I think the problem is that until you experience something first hand, you never know exactly what is justified. The fact of the matter is that these people aren’t committing suicide, they just want to die with some dignity while they still know who they are. Sure its a terrible thing, death is painful. When loved ones die WE suffer emotionally, watching them suffer. In return they suffer in pain, emotional distress, and confusion as they watch us, their loved ones, suffer. Its a choice given unto the person at the end of their life. I think the easy misconception is that its easy to group this into a premature death, when really, these patients only have a very MINIMAL amount of time to live. Its something to think about. I think the key word here is EMPATHY. Have empathy for what reality serves, but always be greatful for what you have, even if that means knowing your short last days will only get worse before you move on.
August 11th, 2010 | 7:58 pm
I assume you have never taken a single journalism class in your life. I’ve seen North Korea release more impartial articles.
I would like to understand your issues with the physician assisted suicide, Mr. Smith, as you certainly did not hide it from your “reporting.”
Links
Blogs
Find Us
Contact