Michigan pathologist Dr. Jack Kevorkian, dubbed Dr. Death for assisting more than 100 people end to their lives, died early Friday. Kevorkian, 83, was being treated for pneumonia and kidney problems at a hospital in Royal Oak, Mich.

In a 1998 60 Minutes interview, Kevorkian showed a videotape in which he administered a lethal injection to a patient who suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease.

“Somebody has to do something for suffering humanity,” Kevorkian said at the time. “I put myself in my patients' place. This is something I would want.”

Although he was charged with murder several times, Kevorkian was not convicted until 1999 over the death of a 52-year-old ALS sufferer to whom Kevorkian administered a lethal injection. Kevorkian served 8 years of a 10 to 20 year sentence.

Following his release from prison, Kevorkian swore not to participate in any more physician-assisted suicides. In recent years he spoke out in favor of changing state laws to allow patients' "right to die."

The debate over physician-assisted suicide remains a controversial subject.

Washington, Oregon, and Montana allow terminally ill patients who are mentally sound to be assisted by physicians to commit suicide.

Organizations like Final Exit Network argue assisted suicide is a mercy killing or rooted in a fundamental "right to die."

Other groups, such as Not Dead Yet, argue physician-assisted suicides have the potential for abusing patients' right to health care. In 1996, the organization said three-quarters of Kevorkian’s assisted suicides “involved non-terminal disabled people… denying them meaningful suicide prevention.”