Kevorkian: The Movie

Al Pacino as Dr. Death. Go figure.

Say hello to my little death machine!

Susan Sarandon and John Goodman are set to co-star opposite Al Pacino in "You Don't Know Jack," HBO Films' biopic of Jack Kevorkian, which is being directed by Barry Levinson.

Kevorkian, known as Dr. Death, assisted in more than 130 suicides. After willingly sending a videotape of himself euthanizing a terminally ill man to "60 Minutes," he was convicted in 1999 of second-degree murder and spent eight years in prison before getting paroled in 2007.

Loosely based on Neal Nicol and Harry Wylie's book "Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian's Life and the Battle to Legalize Euthanasia," the HBO film follows Kevorkian's (Pacino) rise as he builds his infamous Mercy Machine and sets out to perform assisted suicides while waging an epic legal battles defending a patient's right to die.

Goodman will play Nicol, a friend and co-worker of Kevorkian since 1961 and a steadfast supporter of the right to die.

Nicol's medical training as a corpsman and laboratory technician enabled him to assist Kevorkian on many occasions, while his laboratory supply company often provided materials for Kevorkian's efforts.

The annoying Sarandon plays--wait for it--an activist!

What a stretch.

Sarandon will play Janet Good, an activist with the Hemlock Society who becomes one of Jack's staunchest supporters, working side by side with him to make humane suicide available to the terminally ill and suffering. After she is herself diagnosed with terminal cancer, she avails herself of Kevorkian's services, choosing her own time to die, surrounded by her friends and loved ones.

Maybe someone can euthanize her career.

Dr. Death 'Kicks Off' Campaign

Other than Cindy Sheehan, perhaps the oddest candidate for Congress got his campaign up and running today.

The man known as "Dr. Death" is running for Congress.

Jack Kevorkian, an outspoken advocate of assisted suicide, announced this morning that he will run as an independent for the seat currently held by Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich., according to the Associated Press.

Not sure whether the Associated Press is trying to be cute with this headline:

Kevorkian Kicks Off Congressional Run

Maybe it's just me, but having a story about Dr. Death and the words "kicks off" in the headline seems a bit macabre.

More from the Detroit News.

Dr. Death Running for Congress

This corpse seems like a perfect fit for the Democrat Party, but I guess it's just as well he runs unaffiliated since the media wouldn't identify him as a Democrat if he were one.

Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian is planning to run for Congress in Michigan. Kevorkian is on parole since being released from prison last year.

He tells The Oakland Press newspaper that he plans to run without party affiliation for the congressional sea now held by Republican Joe Knollenberg.

Kevorkian needs a minimum of 3,000 signatures on nominating petitions to appear as an independent on the November ballot.

More here.

Oakland County Prosecutor Dave Gorcyca, whose office was responsible for sending Kevorkian to prison, did not give Kevorkian's candidacy much weight.

"It's probably more of a publicity stunt," Gorcyca said. "To call attention to himself is standard protocol for Jack when he doesn't have the limelight focused on him. I would not consider his candidacy to be a legitimate one."

Dr. Death To Be Freed

Jack Kevorkian will be a free man next week and the Associated Press laments the fact only Oregon allows assisted suicide.

LANSING, Mich. - For nearly a decade, Dr. Jack Kevorkian waged a defiant campaign to help other people kill themselves.

The retired pathologist left bodies at hospital emergency rooms and motels and videotaped a death that was broadcast on CBS' "60 Minutes." His actions prompted battles over assisted suicide in many states.

But as he prepares to leave prison June 1 after serving more than eight years of a 10- to 25-year sentence in the death of a Michigan man, Kevorkian will find that there's still only one state that has a law allowing physician-assisted suicide — Oregon.

Experts say that's because abortion opponents, Catholic leaders, advocates for the disabled and often doctors have fought the efforts of other states to follow the lead of Oregon, where the law took effect in late 1997.

Opponents defeated a measure in Vermont this year and are fighting similar efforts in California. Bills have failed in recent years in Hawaii, Wisconsin and Washington state, and ballot measures were defeated earlier by voters in Washington, California, Michigan and Maine.

Kevorkian's release could spur another round of efforts, if only to prevent anyone else from following his example.

"One of the driving forces of the (Oregon) law was to prevent the Jack Kevorkians from happening," said Kate Davenport, a communications specialist at the Death with Dignity National Center in Portland, Ore., which defended Oregon's law against challenges.

"It wasn't well regulated or sane," she said. "There were just too many potential pitfalls."

Kevorkian is a lunatic and I have a hunch he's learned little in his time behind bars. Within weeks of his release, he'll probably help someone commit suicide and will be looking at prison again.