The bodies of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult were found dead in a California mansion all having committed suicide by ingesting a lethal mixture of phenobarbital and vodka. The Heaven's Gate Cult led by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles and the leader Applewhite convinced his followers to commit suicide so that their souls could take a ride on a spaceship that they believed was hiding behind the Comet Hale-Bopp ( Haleys Comet ) .

Was found guilty of second-degree murder for giving a lethal injection to a terminally ill man and airing it on the television program "60 Minutes." He allowed the airing of a videotape on "60 Minutes." that he had made which depicted the voluntary euthanasia of Thomas Youk, 52, an adult male with full decisional capacity who was in the final stages of ALS. He was sentenced to to serve a 10-25 year prison sentence by the judge, he was released on parole in 2007 on the condition that he cannot help anyone else die. He no longer assists in voluntary euthanasia but does campaign that the law is changed ( currently the only US State that allows legalized doctor-assisted suicide for terminally ill people is Oregon. )