by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March 25, 1999
All Rights Reserved.

aking what amounts to his final house-call, a Pontiac, Michigan jury threw the book at euthanasia specialist Dr. Jack Kevorkian . Finding him guilty of second degree murder and transporting a controlled substance, the 14-member panel turned on its head any meaningful definition of second degree murder. Unlike the Unabomber — once Berkeley math professor Theodore Kazinski — presiding circuit court Judge Jessica Cooper mistakenly permitted the defiant but mentally frail Kevorkian to represent himself. Fulfilling his former attorney’s prophesy, Kevorkian euthanized himself, appearing at times illogical and grandiose comparing himself to civil rights pioneers Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. Apparently jurors were not impressed.

       Forcing jurors to accept a narrow definition of second degree murder, fails to account for Kevorkian’s intentions and actions while assisting in the suicide of his most recent patient. Surely the present litmus test for murder does not include physicians engaged in euthanasia or voluntary assisted suicide. Persuading the jury that Kevorkian operated like a professional ‘hit man,’ was outrageous enough but robbing him of the right to present Mr. Youlk’s widow, or to give jurors a modicum of insight as to how terminally ill patients make these decisions, clearly denied him due process. Citing that such testimony would "inflame jurors’ passions" is mind-boggling. Denying Youlk’s family from testifying, sandbagged jurors into accepting the court’s twisted definition of second degree murder. There’s simply no way you can stretch Kevorkian’s actions to fit any ‘common sense’ definition of murder or even voluntary manslaughter.

       Despite Kevorkian actually administering the lethal injection with the cameras rolling on 60-Minutes, everyone surely knows that he didn’t attack Mr. Houlk maliciously to cause his death. No, Mr. Houlk sought Dr. Kevorkian’s services to relieve his suffering from end-stage, amyothrophic lateral sclerosis [AKA Lou Gehrig’s Disease], a terminal illness in which a patient neurologically disintegrates and becomes a total vegetable. Let’s face it, had Mr. Houlk signed advanced directives and laid prostrate in a care center with his primary care physician administering a lethal morphine drip, it would been ignored as ‘standard’ medical practice.

       Arguing that Kevorkian, this time around, ‘crossed the line’ and administered a lethal injection of secobarbital, rather than allowing the patient to control his own euthanasia through a suicide machine, totally ignores the reality of the circumstance that the patient — not Kevorkian — asked for his assistance because he was totally helpless and incapable of ending his own life. He couldn’t climb to the top of a precipice, slash his wrists, pull a trigger or even swallow a pill. No, Mr. Houlk was so deteriorated that he was choking on his own saliva. What’s he supposed to do? Lay there helpless and suffer? Have his own wife put him out of his misery? I don’t think so.

       Progressive terminal illnesses, like Lou Gehrig’s disease, cruelly run their course, reaping unimaginable pain and suffering on their victims and families. Let there be no mistake, Mr. Houlk was afflicted with a ‘killer disease’ which would have taken his life had Dr. Kevorkian not intervened at his and his family’s request; certainly not, as Oakland County prosecutor John Skrznski argued, that Kevorkian committed first or second degree murder or any other ‘criminal’ act. It’s easy to pull definitions out of context, twist irrelevant facts, torture logic and persuade a jury that two plus two equals five — we’ve seen that before. Despite all the legal gyrations, when all is said and done, ‘common sense,’ reason, and plain fairness must also count for something. Jurors must be given the chance to comprehend the extenuating circumstances not simply to swallow legal instructions which blind their own capacity to mete out justice.

       Exploring the thin line between homicide and suicide, the great American psychiatrist Karl Menninger — founder of the world renowned Menninger Clinic — defined suicide as ‘murder of the self.’ He certainly never suggested that terminal illnesses were murderers because they were renegade diseases which wind up killing people. As most physicians know but rarely discuss openly, medical questions of life and death are usually resolved with family consent known as ‘advanced directives.’

       While most physicians don’t administer lethal injections per se, they do titrate pain medications to lethal dosages to enable terminally ill patients to humanely extinguish their suffering. Hospice workers, from Cucamonga to Poughkeepsie, routinely request morphine drips, and, with family consent, voluntarily deny patients intravenous hydration and nutrition, accelerate their deaths and end their misery. Somehow these big-hearted individuals, caregivers of those poor souls at the end of their lifespans, aren’t charged by local authorities with capital crimes. For the most part, they’re venerated as courageous and dedicated health care workers.

       Like the daredevil motorcycle jumper Evel Kinevel, Dr. Jack Kevorkian miscalculated his assignment and hit the skids in the motor city. Finally colliding hard with a legal system whose sharp edges sometimes impale well-intentioned idealists, he was branded a murderer and derailed from his impossible profession. While he’s still no doubt committed to his trade, Oakland County circuit court judge Jessica Cooper made him promise that he’ll restrain himself from ‘illegal’ activity pending his sentencing hearing scheduled in mid-April 1999. Looking for an exit strategy, he put himself in harms way by biting off more than he could chew and foolishly trying to represent himself. Now that he’s coming to his senses, maybe he’ll regain some of his Teflon the next time around. Contemplating him rotting in prison makes no sense at all.

About the Author

John M. Curtis is director of a West Los Angeles think tank specializing in human behavior, health care and political research and media consultation. He’s a seminar trainer, columnist and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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