You Said It: Locals React to Kevorkian's Death

Assisted suicide advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian of Royal Oak died at Friday morning at the age of 83. He had been hospitalized with kidney, liver and respiratory problems off and on for several weeks.

Kevorkian, who first made headlines for his right-to-die stand in 1990 when he assisted in the death of Alzheimer's patient Janet Adkins, admitted to assisting in an estimated 130 deaths from 1990-98.

"He's an awful person," said Rochester Hills resident Katie Peterson, who added that she thought he shouldn't have been released from prison.

"If you're going to help people kill themselves, you'll get what's coming to you eventually."

On Facebook, Oakland Township Patch readers praised Kevorkian.

"Dr. Jack was a good man, a great medical practitioner, and a fine artist," wrote Royal Oak resident Jesse Williams.

"The man should have had a hospital wing named after him, not gotten prison (time) for helping patients to control suffering," wrote Hazel Park resident Lloyd Brombach.

Oakland Township resident Karen Studier, a medical technologist at Country Creek Family Physicians in Oakland Township, agreed, saying, "I thought that he did what he needed to do for people who were ill."