Where are you now, Dr. Death?

Given how slow life is these days, I have fallen victim to an occasional addiction. Watching multiple episodes of Law & Order in an evening. Regular Law & Order, Criminal Intent, or SVU, it doesn't matter. My preference is to watch SVU since my cousin was once the casting director for that show, but doesn't really matter that much.

There was an episode tonight about assisted suicide. It was in no doubt a reference to the doctor of death that hovered over the state of Michigan during my childhood. The ever controversial "Dr." Jack Kevorkian. The man that made the psychotic lawyer with a hero complex, Geoffrey Fieger, a the Democratic candidate for the governor of Michigan in 1998 (thanks entirely to the fact that Michigan once had open primaries).

Kevorkian was convicted of second degree murder in 1999 when he decided to defend himself after several successful trials where he was represented by Fieger. He has been in jail ever since. However, I learned in a Google search tonight that Kevorkian will be paroled in June 2007. I didn't realize this guy was still alive, but apparently he is very ill and may not even live until his release date. I wonder what he'll do with his freedom next year, if he survives until then.

I'll save you all from my position on the assisted suicide issue, mainly because I don't have a concrete stance either way and because this is a loaded topic. Every argument on this issue has an equally compelling counterpoint. I think SVU did an excellent job raising these points. I encourage all of you to waste one or two evenings of your life watching that show in the rare event that you see this episode! :)