He did this using his patented “Thanatron” (death machine), but the charges were eventually dropped. Kevorkian was still a lightning rod for controversy, and he was eventually charged with second-degree murder for providing a lethal injection to one of his patients. He served a more than 8 year prison term before being released for good behavior. In 2011, he passed away from kidney problems and pneumonia associated with Hepatitis C. He was 83 years of age.
