Jack Kevorkian: 1928-2011

Assisted suicide advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian poses with his "suicide machine" in Michigan, in this Feb. 6, 1991, photo. Kevorkian's lawyer and friend, Mayer Morganroth, says the assisted suicide advocate died Friday, June 3, 2011 at a Detroit-area hospital at the age of 83. He had been hospitalized since last month with pneumonia and kidney problems.

Jack Kevorkian, assisted suicide advocate, dies

Dr. Jack Kevorkian arrives at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Aug. 29, 2010. An HBO movie about Kevorkian, "You Don't Know Jack: The Life and Deaths of Jack Kevorkian," was nominated for an Emmy Award. It failed to win, but actor Al Pacino won an Emmy for portraying the assisted suicide advocate.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian attends the premiere of "You Don't Know Jack: The Life and Deaths of Jack Kevorkian" at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York on April 14, 2010. Kevorkian was released from a Michigan prison in 2007 after serving eight years for second-degree murder. He claims to have assisted in at least 130 suicides.

Actor Al Pacino, left, and Dr. Jack Kevorkian attend the premiere of "You Don't Know Jack: The Life and Deaths of Jack Kevorkian" at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York on April 14, 2010. Pacino played Kevorkian in the HBO film.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, left, and director Barry Levinson attend the premiere of "You Don't Know Jack: The Life and Deaths of Jack Kevorkian" at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York on April 14, 2010.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian sits in his lawyer's office in Southfield, Mich., on Dec. 3, 1990, after Oakland County Prosecutor Richard Thompson announced that he would be charged with murder in the death of a woman who committed suicide by using a device of the doctor's.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, right, waits with his attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, in the hallway of the Oakland County Circuit Court in Pontiac, Mich., on Dec. 4, 1990.

Retired Royal Oak, Mich., pathologist Dr. Jack Kevorkian sits during the first day of preliminary examination on first degree murder charges on Dec. 12, 1990.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, inventor of the controversial suicide machine, sits with his just-released book, "Prescription: Medicide," in Royal Oak, Mich., on Aug. 10, 1991.

Barbara Walters, poses with Dr. Jack Kevorkian, attached to a device similar to one Kevorkian has used in assisted suicides, on March 11, 1993.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, left, talks with his attorney, Geoffrey N. Fieger, during a preliminary hearing in 17th District Court, Redford Township, Mich., on Sept. 30, 1993.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, 65, is shown in a booking photograph made by Wayne County deputies in Detroit on Nov. 5, 1993.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, left, stands in the Oakland County District Courtroom of Judge Daniel Sawicki in Royal Oak, Mich., on Nov. 30, 1993, during his arraignment on charges he violated Michigan's ban on assisted suicide in the Oct. 22, 1993, suicide of Merian Fredrick, of Ann Arbor.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian in Southfield, Mich., Aug. 5, 1993. For nearly a decade, Kevorkian defiantly refused to stop his assisted suicide crusade, dropping off bodies at hospitals and even taping a death that was broadcast on CBS' "60 Minutes." His actions prompted battles in many states to regulate how and when doctors could help people choose death.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian talks to the media outside Royal Oak City Hall, in Royal Oak, Mich., Nov. 4, 1998, after a jury convicted the retired pathologist of two misdemeanor charges for a confrontation with police outside a hospital where he was dropping off a body. Kevorkian was convicted in 1999 of second-degree murder in the 1998 poisoning of 52-year-old Thomas Youk, a Michigan resident who had Lou Gehrig's disease.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian points to his head while arguing a point in court during his murder trial at the Oakland County Court in Pontiac, Mich., Tuesday, March 23, 1999. Kevorkian was released Friday, June 1, 2007, from prison after serving more than eight years of a 10 to 25-year sentence. He was convicted in 1999 of second-degree murder in the 1998 poisoning of Thomas Youk, 52, a Michigan man who had Lou Gehrig's disease.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, surrounded by Terrence Youk, far left, Ruth Holmes, left rear, and Sarah Holmes, listens to attorney Lisa Dwyer, right, during the retired pathologist's murder trial in Pontiac, Mich., March 26, 1999. For Youk, Kevorkian's release from prison on Friday, June 1, 2007, is a relief. He was grateful when Kevorkian helped his brother, Thomas Youk, end his life in 1998.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, right, is removed in handcuffs from a courtroom after being sentenced in his trial in Pontiac, Mich., April 13, 1999. He was sentenced in 1999 to 10 to 25 years for second-degree murder in the 1998 poisoning of a man with Lou Gehrig's disease. For almost decade, Kevorkian defiantly refused to stop his assisted suicide crusade, prompting battles over how and when doctors could help people choose death.

Terrence Youk, left, and his sister-in-law, Melody Youk, walk out of Federal Court in Detroit on June 14, 2001. For Youk, Dr. Jack Kevorkian's release from prison on Friday, June 1, 2007, is a relief. He was grateful when Kevorkian helped his brother, Thomas Youk, end his life in 1998 and never thought the retired pathologist deserved the prison sentence he got for administering the fatal drugs.

Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian walks out of the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Mich., Friday, June 1, 2007. Kevorkian, the retired pathologist dubbed "Dr. Death" after claiming he had participated in at least 130 assisted suicides, left prison after eight years, still believing people have the right to die.

Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian uses his hand and makes a sign for a smile after walking out of the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Mich., Friday, June 1, 2007.

Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian in blue sweater is hugged by "60 Minutes" correspondent Mike Wallace at the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Mich., Friday, June 1, 2007.