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Subject: Article: Attorneys oppose feting Michael Schiavo for killing his wife

Author: Judy

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 08/17/05 Wed In reply to: Judy 's message, "Michael Schiavo to be honored AGAIN?????" on 08/16/05 Tue Tuesday, August 16, 2005 Attorneys Oppose Feting Michael Schiavo For Killing His Wife ........................................................................................................................... First Pinellas County probate court judge George W. Greer was lauded by his fellow attorneys in the Clearwater and West Pasco Bar Associations, called judge of the year for ordering the death of disabled Terri Schindler-Schiavo. Then Greer and federal judge James Whittemore who had refused to sign a stay of Greer's death sentence in the right-to-life case to allow a new review of the case as decreed by Congress and the President were named Jurists of the Year by the Florida of the American Board of Trial Advocates. And in what some claim is the most arrogant act of all, on Aug. 5, the Florida State Guardianship Association named Michael Schiavo "Guardian of the Year" for killing his wife and saying that she would have wanted it. Terri Schindler-Schiavo died March 31, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed by order of Greer. For over seven years, Terri's parents, Mary and Robert Schindler Sr. opposed Michael's attempt to kill his wife by judicial decree. The 41-year-old woman wasn't terminal, she was brain damaged as the result of a highly suspicious incident on Feb. 25, 1990, when only her husband was present at a time when she had expressed unhappiness in her marriage and had been talking about getting a divorce. Michael Schiavo ordered that all therapy be stopped, he placed a do not resuscitate order on his wife after he was awarded over $1.3 million from a medical malpractice suit which has now been labeled as fraudulent in that an autopsy has determined that she did not suffer a heart attack or bulimia or potassium imbalance as Schiavo and his attorneys had claimed. Terri left no living will and her estranged husband and guardian maintained that she would not want to live with a feeding tube and he zealously pursued her death in the courts, primarily with the assistance of Greer although her family strongly dispute his assertion as did her long time friends. Greer disregarded their testimony, instead relying on self-serving inadmissible hearsay from Michael Schiavo---conveniently remembered only at the time of trial, and alleged recollections by his brother and sister-in-law. On March 18, the day that feeding tube was removed from Terri, with members of her family present including Terri's sister, Suzanne, attorney Barbara Weller who had represented the Schindlers in their attempt to save the life of their daughter told Terri that if she could only say `I want to live', this whole thing could be over. "I begged her to try very hard to say, "I want to live", Weller said. "To my enormous shock and surprise, Terri's eyes opened wide, she looked me square in the face, and with a look of great concentration, she said, "Ahhhhhhh." Then, seeming to summon up all the strength she had, she virtually screamed, "Waaaaaaaa." She yelled so loudly that Michael Vitadamo, Suzanne's husband, and the female police officer who were then standing together outside Terri's door, clearly heard her. At that point, Terri had a look of anguish on her face that I had never seen before and she seemed to be struggling hard, but was unable to complete the sentence. She became very frustrated and began to cry. I was horrified that I was obviously causing Terri so much anguish. "Suzanne and I began to stroke Terri's face and hair to comfort her. I told Terri I was very sorry. It had not been my intention to upset her so much. Suzanne and I assured Terri that her efforts were much appreciated and that she did not need to try to say anything more. I promised Terri I would tell the world that she had tried to say, "I want to live." But Michael Schiavo maintains she wanted to die and he killed her and for that he has been lauded. Reports claim that he "modestly accepted" the award with the comments, `as you know, I'm not much of a speechmaker. I don't talk much. But on behalf of my wife, Theresa, I thank you", He didn't talk much all right, he steadfastly avoided giving sworn depositions in challenges to his guardianship and in the sworn statements he did give, he made many, many conflicting statements which cast grave doubt as to his veracity about any issue and should have been used to impeach him at the 2000 trial where Terri's fate was initially decided in inadmissible hearsay evidence and trial error which Greer later admitted but refused to correct. In a letter published Monday in the Florida Sun-Sentinel, attorney Weller of Seminole says that awards are going to the wrong people. "This award and the awards to the judges who had no interest in ever actually seeing Terri or in finding out what her true condition was before her feeding tube was removed are a pretty clear indication of Florida's extreme commitment to expanding euthanasia in this state for the elderly and the disabled", Weller wrote. "The Schiavo case was about a guardian who had no interest in caring for a severely disabled ward and about a group of judges who permitted that guardian to neglect and abuse his ward for more than a decade. No cause for awards in my book. "My award would still go to Terri's family who only wanted to love her and care for her and to all the other families in Florida and across our nation who do not believe they should throw away family members simply because they cannot care for themselves. "We will never know what Terri's true condition or potential was since her autopsy was not able to determine whether she was actually in a persistent vegetative state, a minimally conscious state, or something else since that diagnosis could only have been made before her death, as her autopsy report clearly stated. "It is the people who refused to find out the answer to that question and who just wanted to throw Terri away who are getting the awards. It is tragic that the myths about Terri's condition persist in the media and in the legal community merely to advance the cause of euthanasia. "We have become a culture desirous of throwing away people at both ends of life and even in the middle if they are inconvenient and are not able to care for or speak for themselves. "A society is measured by how it cares for the least of those among us. We all need to seriously ask ourselves what these outrageous awards are really saying about the current culture of death in Florida". Kenneth Goodman, a bioethicist at the University of Miami and keynote speaker at the conference where the award was presented to Schiavo, tried to make Schiavo a hero for inciting judicial homicide, saying that he had been "maligned and vilified and condemned when he decides to get on with his private life", which included living in adultery for over 10 years with Jodi Centonze, dishonoring his marriage vows and fathering two illegitimate children while violating numerous sections of guardianship law. "Frankly, what he said his wife wanted is what most reasonable people want", Goodman claimed "However, as indicated by attorney Weller and known by the people who were present in her room on March 18, Terri Schiavo did not want to die, she wanted to live and she valiantly struggled to do so 13 days after her nutrition and hydration were withdrawn by her husband who "wanted to get on with his private life". Attorney Patricia Fields Anderson represented the Schindlers for several years prior to Ms. Weller and attorney David Gibbs, has written to Goodman and asked for a response. "As Bob and Mary Schindler's former attorney, I have a passing fair familiarity with the facts of Michael Schiavo's conduct as a guardian for Terri Schiavo", Anderson told Goodman. `Did you know that FOR TWELVE YEARS—from 1990 until 2002—Mr. Schiavo steadfastly refused to take the statutorily-mandated training all private guardians must undergo? Did you know his refusal came in the face of annual demands from the Clerk's office that he do so?" "Did you also know that Mr. Schiavo did not file annual reports and plans in a timely fashion year after year and, for at least two years, filed no report and plan at all" "Did you know that when Mr. Schiavo did grudgingly and belatedly file plans, there was no plan at all for her improvement? "Did you know the experimental surgical treatment that you specifically mentioned as praiseworthy occurred in NOVEMBER, 1990? Did you know that after the summer of 1992, Terri never received another minute of therapy of any kind—including routine physical therapy—up until the moment of her death, on Mr. Schiavo's orders? "These are facts documented in the court file, Mr. Goodman. They are not unwarranted "attacks" on Mr. Schiavo, simply facts that anyone who makes an effort can discover. The further fact that the Court did not ever sanction Mr. Schiavo for his shortcomings as a guardian is more a testament to an overloaded court docket than a testament to Mr. Schiavo's dedication". "Don't you think honoring Mr. Schiavo as "Guardian of the Year" is insulting to the thousands of honest, hard-working guardians who follow Florida law in act and spirit? There is much more to being a guardian than insisting on the ward's death, Mr. Goodman. "I would like to know how many of the Florida guardians voted on this year's award. Was it the entire membership or a committee of a handful of people? "Please do me the honor of a reply". 8-16-05 ........................................................................................................................... No other news source brings you the indepth coverage of the Schiavo case like The Empire Journal. To access the entire archive, subscribe today. © 2005 The Empire Journal. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

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Subject	Author	Date
And Again....	No name	09/11/05 Sun