Kevorkian to tell story on CBS - including video of his work

CBS says it will air a video provided by assisted suicide advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian that shows a terminally ill patient dying after being given lethal drugs by the doctor.

The video, to be shown Sunday on "60 Minutes," "will show the moment of death and it will show Dr. Kevorkian administering the injection," said CBS spokesman Kevin Tedesco."We're just letting Dr. Kevorkian tell his story," he said. "He wants to use the videotape to tell it, and that's an integral part of it. I really don't think there's a news organization in this country that would pass up this story."

Kevorkian tells Mike Wallace it is the first time he is admitting to killing a patient himself.

The Michigan doctor, who has acknowledged helping about 120 people commit suicide, said he wants authorities to prosecute him for euthanasia in hopes the effort would fail and set a legal precedent.

Kevorkian told CBS he is advocating euthanasia for people who demand it, adding the practice could be controlled by sanctioning only certain doctors to perform it.

"If I am convicted, I will starve to death in prison," Kevorkian told Wallace. "So I will go. The issue has got to be raised to the level where it is finally decided."

The patient and his family, who are interviewed on the videotape, gave permission to show it, Tedesco said.

A medical examiner in Michigan reported this week that a man found dead in his Waterford Township home by a hospice nurse on Sept. 17 had been injected with a barbiturate mixture similar to chemicals used by Kevorkian in the past.

The dead man was identified as Thomas Youk, 52, a patient who suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease.