It is March 7, 1981. Joseph Paul Jernigan is a mechanic from Kane, Illinois. He is not a particularly important man, nor is he particularly intelligent or compassionate. The fact that he failed to effectively steal a microwave from 75-year-old Edward Hale is proof that he lacked intelligence. The fact that he stabbed Hale with a kitchen knife before shooting him three times (cite{texas}) with a shotgun is evidence of his lack of compassion footnote{originally, he left with the microwave, without Scott - but later returned because he thought Hale would be able to identify it (quote {rothman}). Really not a smart guy}. For his crimes, he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. He spent 12 years on death row. . During this period, medical imaging modalities such as MRI became very popular in medicine, and the microwave oven became inexpensive and common in households. After a series of unsuccessful appeals, it is believed that Jernigan was convinced to donate his body to medical science by a prison chaplain, who said it would provide him with a free funeral (see {murderpedia}). Little did he know that his decision would make him one of the most famous corpses in history. \A team from the National Library of Medicine, led by Michael J. Ackerman, was tasked with developing a method for precisely imaging a complete human body in 3 dimensions. They had spent the last two years searching for a suitable corpse – and Jernigan was now their best hope. He was of average weight, height and build, and his body had not been damaged by illness or accident. His last meal was hamburgers and fries, which he refused. He didn't say a last word. But on August 5, 1993, Joseph Paul Jernigan became immortal.section{Corpse Imagery}The ...... middle of paper ......t from the knowledge gained in these images is absurd'}, which commits the mortal sin of writing angry letters equating facts with beliefs. Regardless of your personal opinion on the death penalty, it is wrong to suggest that the use of executed cadavers in medical research supports this practice in any way. A corpse is a corpse, and if it is not used, it will still rot. And yet, in the eyes of some, it is more respectful to throw the corpse into the ground than to honor the request of a dying man. \On that note, quote{rothman} seems to suggest that Jernigan was actually hoping he would become famous. A former cellmate claimed he insisted he wanted his family to be able to sell his life story for a book about true crimes. Although I doubt Jernigan was thinking about medical imaging in a roundabout way, he nevertheless became famous after all..