So I’m scanning through my various news sites and come across an article discussing Jack Kevorkian’s scheduled June 1, 2007 parole date.
LANSING, Mich. — Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian will be paroled in June, state Corrections spokesman Leo Lalonde said Wednesday.
Kevorkian, who claimed to have assisted in at least 130 deaths in the 1990s, was imprisoned in 1999 for his role in the last of the deaths.
The ailing former pathologist has promised he would not assist in a suicide if he was released from prison. He is 78, and has been eligible all along for parole on June 1, 2007.
The state parole board has turned down four of Kevorkian’s requests for parole.
Lalonde did not reveal any other details and directed calls to Russ Marlan, another spokesman for the department. A message seeking comment was left with Marlan Wednesday afternoon.
If Kevorkian is released on June 1, he will have spent close to 3,000 days, or a little more than eight years, in prison since being sentenced in April 1999.
I can remember those cases and the strong media attention. I felt back then that his role in the death of the elderly who was suffering was inappropriate. I wasn’t quite sure, though. There was always this lingering doubt about whether his clients felt that he was helping them get out of the painful, miserable situation they were in. I’ve got to tell you, though, a lot has changed for me in the last eight years.
I’m the proud mother of two little ones. Life is a precious gift. Who should feel it is within their reason and power to take that away from another human being - no matter the reason, no matter the request?
Terri Schiavo. This was a woman full of life, who was being provided care. But could smile, knew who was around her, could interact. And her ex-husband had her starved to death….all to be “compassionate” to her. His decision to quit feeding her killed her and her death should weigh heavily on his shoulders, as well as the judge’s.
Ailing family members. My mom died of cancer coming up on two years ago. My hubby’s mom has Alzheimer’s. His dad has cancer. I can speak mostly of my mom. She made the choice to accept hospice. Hospice care truly delivers on a commitment to help a dying patient be comfortable the rest of their life. And they are there for the family. I couldn’t have ever imagined my mom, even if the most painful part of her illness calling some so-called “mercy” doctor up and saying “please kill me.” Did she want to be comfortable? Absolutely. But she wanted to spend as much time with us as she could, too. Because my mother-in-law has alzheimers and might not remember things from moment to moment and requires around the clock care does it make her life any less valuable? NO!
Kevorkian’s approach to life was to snuff it out - at a time when a patient is so vulnerable they cannot always make a clear, well thought out decision. So that being said, I now, after these 8 years, have no doubts. The guy honestly should rot in prison. But we should feel sorry for him, right?
Kevorkian is being held at the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, about 100 miles west-southwest of Detroit. Morganroth said in June that Kevorkian’s weight had dropped to 113 pounds and that he was suffering from hepatitis C and diabetes.
Kevorkian appeared before the parole board Dec. 7 at the Lakeland facility. The vote to parole him June 1 was unanimous, Morganroth said Wednesday.
As he did in previous hearings, Kevorkian told the parole board he would not assist in any suicides if released, Morganroth said. The Southfield attorney also repeated arguments that Kevorkian’s multiple and worsening health problems have left him with less than a year to live.
“I think they believed him — that he would never do it again. I think they understand he is not well, that he should be treated at a proper facility outside prison,” Morganroth said.
How ironic that we should feel bad for a guy who is in jail for his crime of killing vulnerable people. Now that he is vulnerable and in ill health they think he should be treated at a “proper facility.” We should be compassionate, no? Thank God I’ve never been as compassionate as Kevorkian is.
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http://www.merrimusings.mu.nu/index.php/archive/doctor-death-kevorkian-scheduled-for-june-parole/trackback/
I am NOT proud that this "Doctor" hails from my state. I think the timing of his release is suspect. He admits he has about a year to live. Released in June....gives him about six months. Wonder if he has one of them there boxes leftover and stashed in a closet with HIS name on it?
Well written and heartfelt, girl. I also remember all the coverage of the doctor... I also remember his attorney... and I always felt, there is a special place in hell for him as well....
Comparing a Kevorkian patient with Schiavo is nonsensical. One made an informed, rational choice while the other did not have the option. It is a textbook straw man argument.
If there is no victim, there can be no crime. If a person chooses to end their own life then fine. It is sad but there is no moral or ethical dilemma. The real crime is when passive aggressives, like you, decide that everyone else needs to abide by their diluted sense of right and wrong. It's called liberty. It's called freedom. (Conservatives like those words, right?) It's called the Golden Rule.
Bottom line? Mind your OWN business, try not to judge others lest you be judged, and we'll all get along beautifully.
Scott,
There were victims...many of them. These people didn't choose to end their own lives - he gave them the option to have him kill them. It isn't liberty. It isn't freedom. It is murder.
And your request for me to mind my own business, well, apply it to yourself and we'll get along just fine.
Oh, and there's a lot of comparisons between Terri Schiavo and a patient who is in so much pain they cannot possibly make an informed decision. Have you ever been there? I've seen it first hand. I'm no expert by any means, but I can see how easy it would be for a sick bastard like Kevorkian to take advantage of a person in pain just to get his perverted pleasure out of killing them.
It's difficult to debate someone that contradicts themselves inside a single sentence. You say that he gave them an OPTION, and yet they did not CHOOSE. Which one is it? By definition, choice requires options and vice versa. There is no option/choice in murder so this can’t be murder.
Why do you get to decide that they were in too much pain to make an informed decision? If I'm ever in that much pain, I sure hope that someone doesn't come along and take the only thing I have left-- my ability to make decisions for myself. That's what I mean when I say "mind your own business." There is no need to tell others how they can or can not die. All it can possibly give you is some sense of righteousness.
Yes, I have been there, Merri. I have held the hand of family members while they died... slowly and in agonizing pain. Mesothelioma is a real bitch. You drown, slowly, in your own body. They were very aware and in their right mind until the very last gasp for air.
How do you know Kevorkian took pleasure from killing them? Did he tell you? There you go speaking for others again.
As for minding MY own business... This comment box is an invitation for a conversation, is it not? I simply accepted. If I'm not welcome, ask me to leave or turn off commenting.
Oh, it's not murder, Mr. Drake University web developer (an expert in this matter, that's obvious)?
Let's recall what the judge in Kevorkian's trial had to say about that, shall we?
"Pontiac, Mich. - - Following is the statement made April 13 by Judge Jessica Cooper of the Circuit Court in Oakland County, Mich., to Dr. Jack Kevorkian before sentencing him to 10 to 25 years in prison:
This is a court of law and you said you invited yourself here to take a final stand. But this trial was not an opportunity for a referendum. The law prohibiting euthanasia was specifically reviewed and clarified by the Michigan Supreme Court several years ago in a decision involving your very own cases, sir.
So the charge here should come as no surprise to you. You invited yourself to the wrong forum.
Well, we are a nation of laws, and we are a nation that tolerates differences of opinion because we have a civilized and a nonviolent way of resolving our conflicts. That way is the law and adherence to the law.
We have the means and the methods to protest the laws with which we disagree. You can criticize the law, you can write or lecture about the law, you can speak to the media or petition the voters.
But you must always stay within the limits provided by the law. You may not break the law. You may not take the law into your own hands.
In point of fact, the issue of assisted suicide was addressed in this state by referendum just last November. And while the proponents of that were out campaigning, you were with Thomas Youk. And the voters of the state of Michigan said "no." And they said no two-and-a-half to one.
But we are not talking about assisted suicide here. When you purposely inject another human being with what you know to be a lethal dose of poison, that, sir, is murder. And the jury so found.
Now, you've vilified the jury and the justice system in this case.
But every member of that jury had compassion and empathy for Thomas Youk. They had a higher duty that went beyond personal sympathy and emotion. They took an oath to follow the law, not to nullify it.
And I am bound by a very similar oath, sir.
No one is unmindful of the controversy and emotion that exists over end-of-life issues and pain control. And I assume that the debate will continue in a calm and reasoned forum long after this trial and your activities have faded from public memory.
But this trial is not about that controversy. The trial was about you, sir. It was about you and the legal system. And you have ignored and challenged the legislature and the Supreme Court. And moreover, you've defied your own profession, the medical profession.
You stood before this jury and you spoke of your duty as a physician. You repeatedly speak of treating patients to relieve their pain and suffering, you don't have a license to practice medicine. The state of Michigan told you eight years ago you may not practice medicine. You may not treat patients. You may not possess - - let alone administer or inject - - drugs into another human being.
Now, the reason the guidelines in this particular case are so high is because of the drug conviction in Count 2. And everyone seems to have glossed over this particular offense. But you had no right to be in control of any type of a controlled substance, let alone deliver it to anyone else.
There are several valid considerations in sentencing. One of them is rehabilitation.
But based upon the fact that you've publicly and repeatedly announced your intentions to disregard the laws of this state, I question whether you will ever cease and desist. The fact that your attorney in a presentence investigation says you're out of business from this point forward doesn't negate your past statements.
Now, another consideration and perhaps even a stronger factor in sentencing is deterrence. This trial was not about the political or moral correctness of euthanasia. It was all about you, sir. It was about lawlessness. It was about disrespect for a society that exists and flourishes because of the strength of the legal system.
No one, sir, is above the law. No one.
So let's talk just a little more about you specifically.
You were on bond to another judge when you committed this offense, you were not licensed to practice medicine when you committed this offense and you hadn't been licensed for eight years. And you had the audacity to go on national television, show the world what you did and dare the legal system to stop you. Well, sir, consider yourself stopped."
Did you read it all, Mr. Drake University web developer? Or did you just skim it and have the typical knee-jerk emotional response that bleating leftards like you always do.
As far as your impassioned response concerning your relative with mesothelioma, given your attitude towards this matter, I'm suspicious that you may have been holding on to something other than their hand.
More like their throat.
I love how you accuse Merri of contradicting herself, when you've now done it twice. You've taken upon yourself to try and force the owner of this blog, Merri, to do what you want her to do, while accusing her of something she's incapable of, actually forcing other people to do what she wants them to do.
And yes, Scott Phillips, web developer for Drake University (do they know what you spend working time doing, BTW?), the comment box is for conversation. But you don't seem interested in conversation, all you care about is insulting Merri.
What HE said! The rule has NEVER changed: if you don't like the law, then work to CHANGE it. You do not break the law, and then when caught say "but, but, but...." Kevorkian got a slap on the wrist as far as I'm concerned.
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Well, you know I completely agree with you on most things, including this, but I wanted to say that your post is great and the weird guy who seems to think that it is okay for people who take an oath to 'first do no harm' to their patients to kill their patients.
Well, maybe he thinks that since the good ole "doc" lost his license to practice, murder is okay?
