Judge Will Not Reappoint Guardian in Terri Schiavo Case

Pinellas Park, FL (LifeNews.com) -- A local judge will not reappoint a Stetson University law professor who was previously selected as guardian ad litem for Terri Schiavo.

Professor Jay Wolfson was selected for the position after the state legislature passed Terri's Law.

Charged with evaluating Terri's condition, Wolfson claimed Terri is in a persistent vegetative state, though numerous doctors and specialists disagree with his conclusion. Wolfson also said that she deserved to be given a swallowing test to see if she can eat and drink on her own before a decision is made to remove her feeding tube another time.

Chief Judge David Demers said that he would not reappoint Wolfson because of pending litigation.

Terri's estranged husband Michael, who is engaged to and living with another woman and has two children with her, is challenging the constitutionality of Terri's Law. Michael's attorney George Felos, an assisted suicide advocate, claims the law violates Terri's right to privacy under the Florida constitution.

Governor Jeb Bush, who signed Terri's Law, wanted Wolfson reappointed and was disappointed by Demers' ruling.

"Terri Schiavo yet again has been denied an independent voice in the proceedings that may very well determine the outcome of her life," Bush's office said in a statement.

Bush is hoping that Wolfson can help him establish Terri's end-of-life care wishes.

A friend of Terri's says Terri scolded her when she told a crude joke about a woman in a comatose state. Terri said doctors and lawyers couldn't know whether the comatose woman wanted to stay alive or not.

Michael recalled a conversation he had with Terri where she said she didn't want any extraordinary measures used to keep her alive. However, Michael remembered the conversation only after Terri's estate was awarded a large settlement from a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Bush also wanted Wolfson to investigate what happened on the night Terri collapsed. A brain scan shows possible trauma and Terri's family has been unable to get anyone to investigate whether or not Michael may have abused Terri.

However, Demers said Wolfson completed all of the duties assigned to him under Terri's Law.

If another judge overturns Terri's Law, it would allow Michael to remove Terri's feeding tube for a third time, possibly causing her death. However, it is likely that Bush would appeal the ruling to the Florida Appeals Court.

They are seeking to have Terri's brother, Bobby Schindler, Jr., appointed as Terri's permanent guardian in place of Michael, who they say has a conflict of interest because of his relationship with his fiancee'. They asked Demers to dissolve the Schiavo's marriage.

Judge: No guardian in Schiavo case

CNN

CLEARWATER, Florida (AP) -- A judge on Friday rejected Gov. Jeb Bush's request that an independent guardian continue working in the interests of a severely brain-damaged woman at the center of a right-to-die case.

Chief Judge David Demers ruled that he would not reappoint a guardian to the case, citing pending litigation over the constitutionality of the law that called for the guardian for Terri Schiavo.

"Terri Schiavo yet again has been denied an independent voice in the proceedings that may very well determine the outcome of her life," the governor's office said in a statement.

Florida courts repeatedly have said Michael Schiavo, Terri Schiavo's legal guardian, has the right to remove the feeding tube that has kept her alive. Her parents want to keep her alive and see if she will respond to therapy, and dispute her husband's contention that she had said she didn't want to be kept alive artificially.

The tube was removed for six days in October until the Legislature and the governor stepped in to have the tube reinserted and an independent guardian appointed for her.

The guardian, Jay Wolfson, issued a report that recommended further tests, but did not take a side in the controversy of whether Terri Schiavo wanted to be kept alive artificially. Wolfson was dismissed once the report was issued.

Pat Anderson, a lawyer for Terri Schiavo's parents, questioned Friday's ruling. Her parents have argued that their daughter deserved to have an independent guardian, saying her husband has a conflict of interest because he is engaged to another woman and they have children together.

Michael Schiavo denies a conflict of interest and says he is just carrying out his 40-year-old wife's wishes.

Terri Schiavo collapsed in 1990 at age 26 when her heart stopped from what doctors believe was a chemical imbalance.

Latest death culture news:

Britain's 'Dr. Death' Hangs Himself in Prison
By Kate Kelland and Peter Griffiths, AP

Dr. Harold Shipman killed at least 215 people.

LONDON (Jan. 13) -- Britain's worst mass murderer, Harold Shipman - a family doctor who killed hundreds of his patients - hanged himself with a noose of bed sheets in his prison cell Tuesday.

Shipman, whose suicide was immediately condemned by victims' relatives as a final act of cowardice, was nicknamed ''Dr. Death'' after an horrific, 23-year-long killing spree in which he murdered at least 215 of his patients.

His death means his victims' relatives will now never know what drove him to kill their loved ones.

''He was found dead, hanging in his cell,'' a prison service spokesman told Reuters. He said Shipman had used bed sheets tied to his cell bars to make a noose.

Shipman was convicted in 2000 of murdering 15 of his patients and sentenced to life in prison. An inquiry later ruled he had murdered at least 215 patients with heroin injections, making him Britain's -- and one of the world's -- most prolific serial killer.

The bearded, bespectacled doctor killed his patients over a more than 20-year period from 1975 to 1998. Of his victims, 171 were female and 44 male. The oldest was a 93-year-old woman and the youngest a man of 41.

A statement from Wakefield high-security prison in northern England, where Shipman had been held, said he was found at 0620 GMT Tuesday, the day before his 58th birthday. ''Despite the best efforts of staff who immediately attempted resuscitation, he was pronounced dead by a doctor at 8.10am (1:10 p.m. EST),'' it said.

Shipman's body was driven away from the prison in a funeral service van flanked by a police escort.

The prison said Shipman was alone in his cell when he died and that an investigation into the death would be carried out.

'ADDICTED TO KILLING?'

The official inquiry into Shipman's killings found he had murdered his victims quietly, coldly and systematically, ending their lives in a betrayal of trust ''unparalleled in history.'' It said he may have been ''addicted to killing,'' but found no conclusive motive.

The death means his victims' families will now never know what drove him to kill their loved ones.
Danny Mellor, whose 73-year-old mother Winifred was one of Shipman's victims, said the killer was a coward whose death made it ''desperately hard'' for families to live with the mystery.

''I always harbored the remote possibility that one day I could confront him and ask him why,'' he told Reuters. ''Now that's been taken away from me.''

Shipman's conviction in 2000 sparked horror among Britons at how a doctor who had previous convictions for forging prescriptions to feed his own drug addiction was able to continue his career and run a one-man practice.

Working alone, he was able to stockpile huge amounts of diamorphine -- the medical name for heroin -- at his home and surgery, ready to use on his often elderly victims.

He was finally captured after the daughter of Kathleen Grundy, his last victim, challenged a new will that left all her mother's wealth to Shipman. Her body was exhumed and traces of the fatal dose of heroin were found in her remains.

Prosecutors at Shipman's trial said his drive to kill was fueled by his need for a God-like power over life and death.

Others say the killer was profoundly affected by the experience of watching his own mother die from cancer -- and taking diamorphine to ease her pain.

The trial judge said Shipman's actions were a ''calculated and cold-blooded perversion'' of his medical skills.

Ann Alexander, a lawyer who represents some of the victims' families, said many of them would feel cheated.

''They had hoped that one day they would be able to find out why ... and would have some understanding of why he did what he did. Now, of course, they are never going to know.''

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Heavenly Father, we return to give You thanks that no matter the devastating news, nothing can be done to this mother's child that will not require an accounting. May these continued assaults against Terri become known to more and more people ... may the media take notice that too many are aligned against her for very suspect reasons. Cause them to seek better understanding ... bring them to Terri's side as allies, I pray, for she is in need.

We continually look to You, O Lord, as the only One who can protect her, for only You can be with her when others cannot. Only You can speak to her when others cannot ... only You can be her source of joy and hope and assurance, for others cannot. We grieve for her, Merciful Father, and we ask that You vindicate the love of her parents for their beloved daughter ... sweep away this evil and return her to joyous day with her family, in the Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen ...

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