Today in History: Dr. Jack Kevorkian sentenced
Today is Sunday, April 13, the 103rd day of 2025. There are 262 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On April 13, 1999, right-to-die advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, Michigan, to 10 to 25 years in prison for second-degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a patient with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. (Kevorkian ultimately served eight years before being paroled.)
Also on this date:
In 1743, Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, was born in Shadwell in the Virginia Colony.
In 1861, Fort Sumter in South Carolina fell to Confederate forces in the first battle of the Civil War.
In 1873, members of the pro-white, paramilitary White League attacked Black state militia members defending a courthouse in Colfax, Louisiana; three white men and as many as 150 Black men were killed in what is known as the Colfax Massacre, one of the worst acts of Reconstruction-era violence.
In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial in Washington on the 200th anniversary of his birth.
In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first Black performer to win an Academy Award for acting in a leading role for his performance in 'Lilies of the Field.'
In 1997, 21-year-old Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, finishing a record 12 strokes ahead of Tom Kite in second place.
In 1999, right-to-die advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, Michigan, to 10 to 25 years in prison for second-degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a patient with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. (Kevorkian ultimately served eight years before being paroled.)
In 2005, a defiant Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty to carrying out the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and three other attacks in back-to-back court appearances in Birmingham, Alabama, and Atlanta.
In 2009, at his second trial, music producer Phil Spector was found guilty by a Los Angeles jury of second-degree murder in the shooting of actor Lana Clarkson. (Later sentenced to 19 years to life, Spector died in prison in January 2021.)
In 2011, A federal jury in San Francisco convicted baseball slugger Barry Bonds of a single charge of obstruction of justice but failed to reach a verdict on the three counts at the heart of allegations that he knowingly used steroids and human growth hormone and lied to a grand jury about it. (Bonds' conviction for obstruction was overturned in 2015.)
In 2016, the Golden State Warriors became the NBA's first 73-win team by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 125-104, breaking the 72-win record set by the Chicago Bulls in 1996.
In 2017, Pentagon officials said U.S. forces struck a tunnel complex of the Islamic State group in eastern Afghanistan with the GBU-43/B MOAB 'mother of all bombs,' the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the military.
Today's Birthdays: Singer Al Green is 79. Actor Ron Perlman is 75. Singer Peabo Bryson is 74. Bandleader-drummer Max Weinberg is 74. Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov is 62. Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III is 61. Actor-comedian Caroline Rhea is 61. Actor Rick Schroder is 55. Actor Glenn Howerton is 49. Actor Kelli Giddish is 45. Singer-rapper Ty Dolla $ign is 43. Actor Allison Williams is 37.
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