From the June issue, our obituary of confessed serial killer Jack Kevorkian. It is important to note that he earned the moniker Dr. Death long before he started killing people:

The Detroit News and Washington Post compared him to civil rights heroes, fighting for what the News euphemistically referred to as “death rights.” Broadcaster Barbara Walters complained about the moniker Dr. Death, but as euthanasia expert Wesley Smith noted on his blog, Kevorkian earned the nickname long before he was associated with the euthanasia cause. In 1956, Kevorkian began showing a deep interest in death. He photographed the blood flow in patient’s eyes to determine the exact time of death and advocated for methods of prisoner executions that would allow transplants and experimentation. In the 1960s, he transfused cadaver blood into living patients at Pontiac General Hospital.

And his unsavoury character and criminality gave cover to the rest of the euthanasia movement to look reasonable:

Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, noted that euthanasia advocates typically want to distance themselves from Kevorkian while benefiting from his presence. By having Kevorkian challenge the law by breaking it, Schadenberg told The Interim, the larger movement was able to position itself as moderate in comparison.

Schadenberg said Kevorkian forced the issue of euthanasia and assisted-suicide into public consciousness by “making it a reality they had to think about.”

You should read the whole obit.