ABSTRACT
Jack Kevorkian, the former Michigan pathologist and self-styled "Dr. Death," essentially created the concept and phrase "physician-assisted suicide". Euthanasia has been debated throughout the ages, but Dr. Kevorkian initiated the controversy regarding the new-age, new-wave idea of physician-assisted suicide. Kevorkian was convicted of illegal use of a controlled substance and of second-degree murder and began serving an indeterminate sentence of ten to twenty-five years. Jack Kevorkian is believed to have been involved in "assisting" in the deaths of over 130 individuals. Depending upon one's viewpoint, he engaged in either a highly methodically performed service, at the request of those who died, or he was a highly organized serial killer. Kevorkian also claimed that his right to remain silent was violated by the prosecutor's reference to his decision not to testify, thereby violating his rights against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment.
