Kevorkian Convicted of Murder

Jack Kevorkian was convicted of the second-degree murder of Thomas Youk on March 26, 1999. Kevorkian killed Youk with a lethal injection, videotaped the act, and then aired the videotape on the television program 60 Minutes. The television program was presumably intended to dramatize Mr Kevorkian's views on euthanasia.

Kevorkian was also convicted of delivery of a controlled substance.

Prosecutors sought a conviction for first-degree murder, but after 12 hours of deliberation, the jury rejected this charge and settled on the somewhat lesser penalty. To convict Kevorkian of first-degree murder, the jurors would have had to conclude that the killing of Youk was deliberate and premeditated. To convict him of second-degree murder, they had to conclude that he either intended to kill him or do great bodily harm, or that he knowingly Posted 9 Sep 2000.

Posted 9 Sep 2000