Jack Kevorkian, long-time Royal Oak resident, in hospital with kidney problems

By Shaun Byron
For The Daily Tribune

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the renowned assisted-suicide advocate dubbed Dr. Death, has been hospitalized for unspecified health problems.

“We took him in last night,” said Kevorkian’s attorney Mayer Morganroth. “He was in a couple weeks ago, but he was out of the hospital and how he is back in.”

Kevorkian, a long-time Royal Oak resident, became a well-known figure during the 1990s for his views on assisted suicide and actions.

He was on the cover of news magazines, featured on national news shows and the subject of late-night comedy routines. Throughout the 1990s, he dodged criminal convictions despite several high profile arrests and trials. He helped his attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, achieve national fame.

However, the pathologist's luck turned after he appeared on "60 Minutes," pushing the issue further than before.

In 1999, he was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of 52-year-old Thomas Youk and sentenced to a 10- to 25-year prison term.

Kevorkian was found guilty of administering the substance used to kill Youk, a Waterford Township resident. The killing was videotaped and played on national television, prompting newly elected Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca, who had run under the promise of no more prosecutions against assisted suicide cases.

He was paroled in 2006 after agreeing not to assist with any more suicides.

Kevorkian has reputed to have assisted in 130 suicides.

In 2008, he ran unsuccessfully for Congress in the 9th District as an independent.

Source: Daily Tribune