What about citizens who simply allowed the law to go through? Don't the have a government of the people, by the people and for the people there, or did they just not notice until this little gem led to the death of a human.
But, judges are also at fault in this case. Greer picked and chose what evidence to admit. When presented with evidence of Terri's bone scan and asked by the Schindler's attorney for some time to investigate, he said what happened years ago wasn't "relevant" and threw it out. Until 2000 NO ONE, not doctors, lawyers, or Terri's family, etc. were aware of it...it was part of MS's hidden medical records.
Now he may not have been responsible for the incredible trauma she suffered, but that extreme damage could not have been caused by therapy. Nor could it not have been caused by the paramedics attempting to save her life. CPR may cause a couple of broken ribs, but it cannot cause a broken back or femur broken in the MIDDLE (do you realize how hard it is to break your thigh bone in the middle...it's one of the largest bones in our bodies, requiring extreme blunt force to break.) A few years ago during a high school soccer game my son was kicked full force in the middle of his thigh by a goalie that was twice his size and wearing cleats. He looked like he'd laid his thigh on a waffle iron and closed the lid. He was on crutches for a month, but only CHIPPED his femur. In addition she had neck trauma, trauma to her ankles, damage to her vertebrae, etc. She hadn't been in a car accident, she hadn't fallen from a horse. If I fell on my bathroom floor right now as Terri was supposed to have done, I might bump my head and be unconscious, I might break an arm, but I would not, COULD NOT sustain that kind of trauma unless my bathroom required a 10 foot ladder to get into.
Since experts at the time said these injuries COULD NOT have happened more than 18 months before the bone scan was taken, I think it's relevant to find out what caused that trauma. Unfortunately the police couldn't investigate it because the statute of limitations had run out since Terri was still alive. It's also worth noting that what caused them to do the bone scan in the first place is that during therapy she kept SAYING no! stop! to the physical therapists so they wanted to find out what was causing her pain.
What we do know is that she did not have a heart attack (documented by her med. records from the emergency room), but she did have a low potassium level and elevated blood sugar. We can also surmise that she most likely did not have bulimia since we know her weight loss had occured several years before this incident. If she had bulimia she would have continued to lose weight. None of her friends or family saw any evidence of it, including MS who stated a couple of times ON THE RECORD she didn't have it. We also know her therapy was working early on and she was making progress in all areas (also evidenced by medical records) before MS had it abruptly stopped.
Thus an investigation into the cause of her "accident" seems paramount to determining guardianship. Greer refused. Every other court refused to review the facts, even after congress gave the feds authority and obligation to do so.
The media bears a role in this too for refusing to investigate Terri's story. There was certainly enough evidence that things weren't what they seemed. But since it didn't fit their agenda and involved actual investigative work instead of rewriting the latest Felos press release, they didn't do their job either.
There's plenty of blame to go around. This woman was failed by nearly everyone surrounding the case. It's such an overwhelming tragedy and miscarriage of justice I can hardly comprehend it.
Cindie
According to polls, most of them are okay with it. They'll need some persuading if we're going to change the law.
Greer picked and chose what evidence to admit.
All judges everywhere do that - that's what judges do. We allow them a certain amount of discretion in what comes in and what stays out - they're not judicial machines, after all, and some of it is a judgement call. The mere fact that some of us disagree with the ruling is not prima facie evidence that what the judge did was wrong - half the people who come into civil court wind up disagreeing with the verdict, because that's what courts do. If there was abuse, then the autopsy should still show it - small comfort, I know, but if that was the case then it is still entirely possible that this affair isn't over yet.