You Don’t Know Jack

Dr. Jack Kevorkian is inspired to act after seeing the suffering of a quadriplegic named David Rivlin and recalling his mother Satenig’s death from many years before. From these impulses, he builds his first “Mercitron” using parts bought at a flea market, a device he imagines could bring a quicker, less painful end. He meets with Rivlin and demonstrates the plan, explaining that an intravenous sequence would first deliver a harmless saline solution, then Sodium thiopental to induce a coma, and finally potassium chloride to stop the heart. The procedure is not simple, though; obtaining the necessary drugs proves expensive and difficult, prompting Kevorkian to experiment with a cheaper method using tanks of carbon monoxide. Rivlin grows agitated, and Kevorkian is forced to depart, leaving Rivlin to be removed from his respirator while food and water are withheld.

In a later interview with reporter Jack Lessenberry, Kevorkian openly denounces what he sees as the cruel, unnecessarily painful ways people die and argues that his own method would offer a more humane alternative. He frames himself as someone who provides a means to end suffering, insisting that patients themselves initiate the process and that he has turned down the vast majority of requests he receives.

Kevorkian’s public profile rises when his first patient, Janet Adkins, a 53-year-old Oregon woman living with Alzheimer’s disease, dies with his help on a summer day in 1990. Her case marks the beginning of Kevorkian’s more active involvement, and he continues to assist other patients who seek relief from unbearable pain and hopeless prognosis. Supporters argue that he offers a necessary service and challenges government authority over personal life-and-death decisions. They contend that he respects patient choice and provides options that authorities should not deny.

Critics, however, see a moral boundary being crossed and label Kevorkian as reckless or even murderous. The debate intensifies as state prosecutors pursue him. In the early years, the prosecution—an Oakland County prosecutor in particular—struggles to secure a conviction against him, arguing that Michigan’s laws are too weak to address his actions, while others push for stronger statutes. The political moment shifts in 1998 when a change in leadership brings a more aggressive approach to prosecuting assisted suicides, though the new leadership shares a focus on controlling the legal boundaries surrounding Kevorkian’s work.

The case reaches a turning point with the death of Thomas Youk, a man with advanced ALS who cannot administer the drugs himself. Kevorkian personally administers the fatal dose, and a video of Youk’s death is aired as part of Kevorkian’s interview with a major television program. The broadcast leads to an indictment, and, despite the efforts of Youk’s widow Melody and his brother Terry to defend him, Kevorkian is eventually convicted of second-degree murder. He chooses to represent himself at trial, a legal maneuver that contrasts with the role of his former attorney, Geoffrey Fieger. The verdict results in a prison sentence of 10 to 25 years.

The court’s decision to allow a direct challenge to the limits of assisted suicide does not come to fruition, and Kevorkian’s bid to have the issue heard by the United States Supreme Court is declined. He serves more than eight years before being released in June 2007. The narrative leaves audiences with a portrait of a controversial figure whose actions sparked an enduring, nationwide conversation about autonomy, suffering, and the role of medicine in the end of life.

Last Updated: November 22, 2025 at 15:59