[FormerACLUmember]

To a corrupt nation, Terri Schiavo is a living, breathing, thinking, willing, loving rebuke and provocation. She exposes all that is worst in us, the lawlessness, crassness, hard-heartedness, and viciousness that we see almost everywhere around us. In her silence she elegantly refutes the shameless fraud of the bioethics experts, the callousness of the Death Doctors and the Right-to-Die enthusiasts, the tyranny of an unchecked judiciary, the utter depravity of the secular humanists. In her debilitated state, nearly squeezed dry of life, she filled the world with her voiceless eloquence.

My favorite lines of an extremely eloquent analysis. Thanks for the post.

[livius]

the forces of death were not about to halt for even a second, and we were utterly powerless to intervene.

This is true. I never had much hope that the judiciary was going to relent and save her, because I thought they had their minds made up long before - they rightly saw it as a matter of sticking up for one of their own (and hence defending their own power), no matter how misguided and laden with conflict of interest his decision may have been.

Yet I think that many people, including some of our elected officials, never thought it would get this far. Being used to wending their way through bureaucracy, they really expected common sense and decency to prevail in the long run. The fact that it did not is probably an eye-opener to people who trusted the system.

[grassboots.org]

Terri, you will not be forgotten.

[Kenny Bunkport]

Whether 2000 years ago, or today, man is still fallen and in need of redemption.

[14erClimb]

Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. (Exodus 23:7)

There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers (Proverbs 6:16-19)

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent- the LORD detests them both. (Proverbs 17:15)

You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you. (James 5:6)

[Verginius Rufus]

"The deceased's next of kin must prosecute the killer on a charge of murder."

--Plato, Laws 866b.

Useless when the killer is the judge. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

[mjtobias]

Excellent analogy of Jesus and Socrates - the man who knew nothing.

"The difficulty, my friends is not in avoiding death, but in avoiding unrighteousness; for that runs faster than death. I am old and move slowly, and the slower runner has overtaken me, and my accusers are keen and quick, and the faster runner, who is unrighteousness, has overtaken them. And now I depart hence condemned by you to suffer the penalty of villany and wrong; and I must abide by my award - let them abide theirs."