Terri Schiavo has passed away

CNN ^ | 3/31 1005 | CNN

[STARWISE]

but I think he's got a hard row to hoe on that one, politically speaking - the support just isn't there, not so long as most folks think the right end was achieved.

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I disagree .. as this scarring wound continues to ooze in the consciousness of the electorate, I believe its impact will grow .. not lessen.

I think you're probably a well-schooled practicioner or student of the processes of the law .. but I have yet to see a compassionate heart expressed in all your missives... to the contrary, many of your comments have been flippant and insensitive, in light of the grief most of us feel. Anyone ever tell you that sometimes, we can be too "smart" for our own good?

I believe this dark and excruciating (literally) chapter has forever martyred and memorialized Terri's needless killing for years to come -- a precious, innocent, disabled life .. you just can't trifle or preach process successfuly with something that touches people so profoundly.

And, with that .. I bid you adieu.

[ClancyJ]

God did not will this - Felos and Michael willed it.

Good will come out of it for those that love the Lord but God did not plan for Terri to be sacrificed - Felos and Michael did this and please don't try to remove this from their shoulders.

Our prayers for Terri were not answered as we would have liked because maybe it was not God's will to do so at that time. But, make no mistake, this evil was by man - not God.

[ClancyJ]

...Wouldn't the proper Christian attitude be to pray for him to realize the error of his ways and repent?


......

Yes, it would. But, I cannot do that - it will have to come from better Christians than me.

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

"The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida is a federal court, which is empowered to do exactly that."

No, the US constitution only give the US Supreme court that power.

"Also, how can Terri have received due process when she was never in court and she had no voice (attorney) speaking for her?

She had guardians ad litem appointed at various points throughout, and as her legal guardian, the whole point to this was that Michael Schiavo was empowered to speak for her. The Schindlers disagreed with his decisions, obviously, but this is the presumption that the law makes - that your next of kin is empowered to speak on your behalf. Don't see much we can or should do to change that, unfortunately."

Actually, no. One Guardian ad litem was appointed for Terri in 1998 and when that guardian said that Terri should not have the feeding tube pulled, he was fired by the court that appointed him.

There was one other Guardian Ad Litem.

That guardian ad Litem was ordered by law to find the facts and report them to the Govenor of Florida. That guardian ad litem was not a lawyer for Terri and was appointed by the court. His report was very sappy and may as well have been George Felos talking points. There were inconsistencies in that report compared to the testimony of the witnessed.

Either way there was NO attorney there strictly to look out for Terri's rights. This constitutes lack of due process.

"In essence, she was not allowed to face her accusers in court.

This is probate, not criminal - there are no "accusers" in the sense you're thinking."

She is DEAD now and you want to talk about whether or not she was a criminal? Have you no shame? Have you no appreciation for her rights as an individual? Do you believe that a disabled person deserves to die because someone said so in court?

[general_re]

Yes, it was - you didn't read Whittemore's ruling. It's here - start at page 4 and continue on to the end. He ran through a procedural review as a part of determining whether they had a substantial likelihood of prevailing, and hence whether an injunction should be granted.

[general_re]

I merely present possibilities - whether you choose one or the other makes no difference to me.

[general_re]

Pearse was never fired. He presented his report and was discharged. Guardian ad litem is not a permanent position.

[Monterrosa-24]

So who claimed to have taken it? What is the story? It is difficult to believe that a photo could be leaked like this?

[trussell]

I'm sorry about posting the original link. I didn't read the rest of the page...just saw the pic that I thought others would want to see.

It was totally my fault...I asked Meek to ping for me.

[Graymatter]

I'm not sure Ms. Anderson said the ME's name.

[processing please hold]

Some might say he pulled his own feed tube and is in for a long. slow death of his political career.

I hope so. If there is any justice in this world all those higher ups will learn what a wicked &itch karma is.

[general_re]

Flippant? Not at all. I do not wish to see this scene repeated, and hence I am compelled to do what I can to persuade people to take a course of action that will prevent it. If I seem insensitive, it may be because the sort of rhetoric I have seen employed all too often lately is completely counterproductive. I am here, while folks are still present and sweeping up their leftover swastikas and Nazi epithets and conspiracy theories - none of which made a damn bit of difference, I should add - to present another way of getting things done, a way less reliant on overwrought, hyperemetic rhetoric. That way starts by recognizing the real culprits here, and it ain't the courts, not in this case.

[general_re]

No, the US constitution only give the US Supreme court that power.

I suggest you review Article III again, considering it in light of the Judiciary Act of 1793, and subsequent amendments.

One Guardian ad litem was appointed for Terri in 1998 and when that guardian said that Terri should not have the feeding tube pulled, he was fired by the court that appointed him.

Again with this - this is the third time, and it just isn't true. Pearse presented his report, and then he was discharged. Guardian ad litem is not a permanent position, and he was never "fired".

She is DEAD now and you want to talk about whether or not she was a criminal?

No, I am pointing out that your notion of how probate works is not correct.

[general_re]

the Judiciary Act of 1793

Or 1789. Whatever.

[trussell]

I don't know all the details...just that someone managed to sneak the phone in, and got the picture of her to dispute the claims from Felos.

Sorry I don't know more.

[The Red Zone]

But if she had stated while standing on her feet "I now want to starve myself to death" she would have been whisked off to the looney bin. Somehow her disability makes that better!

[general_re]

One of life's little ironies, more or less. If she were perfectly healthy and simply decided to stop eating, she'd probably be committed. It's a bit different for those we judge to be in bad shape, though - for them, we tend to let them decide for themselves whether or not they'd like to hang on.

[Monterrosa-24]

"But if she had stated while standing on her feet "I now want to starve myself to death" she would have been whisked off to the looney bin. Somehow her disability makes that better!"

Excellent point. It is worth repeating. Dehydration is the ultimate inhuman barbarity.

[The Red Zone]

It points up the misguided pity of those who want to put the disabled out of their misery like a cat that is too sick to go to the litter box any more.

[general_re]

Well, I don't know that you'll find anyone who supports such a thing around here, anyway. At best you'll get a general belief that maybe people should be allowed to make those decisions for themselves, but I don't think we're quite on the road to Soylent Green-style euthanasia centers just yet.