Dr. Jack Kevorkian and Cases of Euthanasia in Oakland County, Michigan, 1990–1998

Abstract

To the Editor: Analyses of data from Oregon 1 , 2 and elsewhere 3 – 5 have begun to clarify the characteristics of patients who seek a physician's assistance with suicide or euthanasia. We report on a descriptive clinical analysis of the 69 persons who died with the assistance of Dr. Jack Kevorkian in Oakland County, Michigan, between 1990 and 1998. Kevorkian, a retired pathologist, assisted in the deaths of over 100 people. In 1999, he was sent to prison after being convicted of second-degree murder. We analyzed data from the medical examiner's files, including autopsy findings, for the 69 deaths that were investigated . . .