Maybe because the advent of the internet and talk radio has allowed such cases to be more widely disseminated, to say the least. Even the Schiavo case, although 15 years old, did not achieve national attention until a few years ago.
Good point. The MSM reporting on this is as disgraceful as Judge Greer's conduct... and they were still controversial cases. Alternative media has given us the other side of the story.
E.g., the writer errs of course in calling Terri Schiavo 'in a coma' - she is awake at times, like all of us are. She is brain-damaged not brain-dead - BIG difference.