The Interview That Wasn't Michael Schiavo got the usual Larry King softballs.

The Weekly Standard ^ | 10/28/2003 | Wesley J. Smith

[martin_fierro]

Larry King is AWFUL, regardless of who he "interviews."

Brain-dead TV.

[Capt. Jake]

I had thought that both the husband and the family could be acting in good-faith, felt sorry for them all and paid little attention to the matter. Then I saw the husband on Larry King. Even with the softball questions, it was apparent that he was an evil person. Thise article has stunned me.

[Mamzelle]

re: (4) Is it true that Terri's money has paid for attorneys to make her dead, instead of therapists to make her better? The answer is, unquestionably, yes. According to court records, George Felos, the dutiful "right to die" attorney who sat at Schiavo's side on King's show, has been paid over $350,000 from Terri's trust fund. Another of Schiavo's attorneys, Debra Bushnell, has received about $90,000. These two lawyers alone have received more than half of Terri's entire trust. ))))

Just thought it bore repeating.

I've read on several fronts that Felos, the Greek bearing gifts to himself, is also on the board of the hospice seeking even more funds from Terri's trust. Papadakis is the name of the doc who testified as to Terri's hopeless state.

Now a very highly placed and respected forensic NY doctor has made a bald public statement as to evidence of past trauma injuries to Terri, injuries consistent with what might have caused her brain damage in the first place. Astonishing--no one of this reputation would make such a potentially libelous remark unless there was something indisputable backing him up.

This is shaping up as the ultimate Greek tragedy ... what a story.

[lugsoul]

"Now a very highly placed and respected forensic NY doctor has made a bald public statement as to evidence of past trauma injuries to Terri, injuries consistent with what might have caused her brain damage in the first place. Astonishing--no one of this reputation would make such a potentially libelous remark unless there was something indisputable backing him up."

Did you feel this way about his credibility when he testified for O.J.?

[aculeus]

Then I saw the husband on Larry King. Even with the softball questions, it was apparent that he was an evil person.

Although LK didn't press this guy sufficiently he gave me the distinct impression he was both surprised by Hubby's demeanor and very suspicious.

[Mamzelle]

Ah--tell me more. What testimony did he provide for OJ?

[twigs]

That's the reason why I think that LK provides a good public service. You can't say that he pushes people to say what they don't want. He allows them to be themselves and sometimes that's all it takes for a reasonably intelligent and intuitive viewer.

[Guenevere]

I am not a fan of Larry King....

..and yes, he asked his usual softball questions....

..but, to his credit, IMO, King did suggest he bring in his CNN cameras to Terri's room to record her...(this being in response to Schiavo saying Terri reacts to everyone like she does her mother...per the video...)***insinuating it was no big deal.

When King suggested this, Schiavo immediately said 'No' ....it wasn't dignified to let him film Terri...

...and King also suggested Schiavo take a lie detector test.....which Schiavo declined...(surprise!)

So, I felt King put a couple dents in Schiavo's armor.

How anyone could listen/look at Schiavo and not see this conniving, greedy person, I don't know.

[lugsoul]

He testified for O.J. in both the criminal and civil trials. Same ol' stuff - the cops and coroner did a crappy job, prosecution's theory not consistent with the evidence, etc. Here's a sample:

Pathologist says silence indicates more than one killer SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Silence during the killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman indicates that more than one person attacked them, a renowned pathologist testified for O.J. Simpson.

"I can't understand how these two people could have been murdered and not yelled out unless there were two," Dr. Michael Baden said Monday at Simpson's wrongful death trial.

"Neither victim was incapacitated or unable to cry for help," he said. "One can yell, 'Help,' five times in a second or two seconds."

The eerie silence in the Brentwood neighborhood on the night of June 12, 1994, has been the subject of testimony in Simpson's criminal and civil trials. Most witnesses have testified that the quiet was interrupted only by barking dogs. One man testified that he heard someone shout, "Hey! Hey! Hey!"

Baden, New York City's former chief medical examiner, contradicted the testimony of his old friend, Dr. Werner Spitz, the plaintiffs' pathologist who insisted a lone killer committed the crimes. "It's likely there was more than one perpetrator," Baden said. "It's very difficult for one perpetrator to control two victims at the same time. It would be impossible to stop people from yelling and screaming and taking evasive action."

[Mamzelle]

Your example speaks to Baden making assumptions for which he is not qualified. However, you never know what sort of questioning he'd be responding to...

[Mamzelle]

furthermore, I hear a major Ego talking from this example. Point taken. However--an investigation is reasonable.

[lugsoul]

Making assumptions? Like the assumption that Terri was not bulemic (which has apparently already been proven in a court of law)? He has to be making that assumption for him to say that the potassium deficiency doesn't make sense, because it is a known common effect of bulemia.

[Annie03]

I thought LK wasn't buying what MS/Felos were selling. I was really surprised-LK is THE softball interviewer, who usually seems sypathetic to defense attys and accused criminals.

[Mamzelle]

Baden made the assertion, that could easily be investigated, that she had evidence of many healed injuries. This is commonly what you see in abused children and women--you can do a full-body xray of a child who has no presenting injuries and find evidence of past. Is one of the dead giveaways--

Death by Bulimia, doctor's fault? Excuse me. Possible, yes. Probable, no.

[isrul]

I believe a lot of people who thought as you did may have come to the same conclusion.

[TigersEye]

"My girlfriend has done more for Terri than her own mother." Asked what that might be, Schiavo answered, "She washed her clothes."

At that point LK could have asked "How could her mother wash her clothes when you have ordered that she can't visit Terri?"

[lugsoul]

First, it was proven in court that it was partially the doctors' fault. As I understand the claim, Terri had been examined and treated for several months prior to the 'incident' and no blood work had been done which could have caught the problem. One of the symptoms for which she saw doctors was continuing missed periods, which is consistent with anorexia / bulimia. Also, the jury assigned part of the "blame" to Terri (Florida is a "pure comparative negligence" state).

As for the bone scan report, it did mention "trauma" in the extremities and lower back - of a type that many adults have. Read it. It doesn't give any indication that she was beaten. And it doesn't say anything at all about any injury to her neck.

[Ciexyz]

I watched last night for a few minutes only, because it made me sick to watch the creep (the husband). As for Larry King, we have to give him credit for airing the interview. He gave hubby a chance to air his side, and then he gave callers a chance to pummel hubby.

Larry has a talent of letting people relax and then revealing their worst side. I remember an interview he did at least ten years ago with the father of a burn victim. "Rothenberg" was the father's name, and he had set his son on fire when the kid was a young boy, approx. 8 years old. He had custody of the kid and took him to a motel room and then set the room on fire. This was in the mid-80's. The kid survived but had to have years of reconstructive surgery and was terribly deformed.

When Larry interviewed him, you could see he was phrasing his questions very carefully. He got the man talking and it showed the father's total selfishness and evil spirit. I have to give him credit for his interviewing skills. By the way, that father spent years in jail for his crime.

[Mamzelle]

By preponderance of evidence, a civil jury found for the pitiful plaintiff's husband and started spending someone else's money to salve their own pity. You can call it "proven"-- this is Florida we're talking about, which has shut down it's firstclass trauma system in Orlando because of sobbing juries and greeky lawyers. Drive carefully to Seaworld...

Baden asserted evidence of injuries and he saw the evidence --enough to at least have a look.

BTW--that potassium thingy is also consistent with a pillow over the face for ten minutes. It's consistent with more than one thing.

Bulimia. Not likely. Possible.

Wow--what if it's the worst possible scenario--a suspicious death combined with lawyer insurance fraud and corrupt hospices? What a movie plot!