As Terri Schindler-Schiavo faces forced removal today of the feeding tube that sustains her life, lawyers for her husband are ordering her parents to hand over a videotape distributed yesterday as evidence she is not in a "persistent vegetative state."
Terri's father, Robert Schindler, admitted the tape was made surreptitiously Aug. 11, 2001, in violation of a court order by Pinellas-Pasco County, Fla., Circuit Judge George Greer.
Bob Schindler at press conference yesterday (photo: Gary McCullough, Christian Communication Network)
The video, which shows Terri laughing and trying to speak, also indicates attempts at rehabilitative therapy, also banned by the court.
But Schindler says he is willing to risk jail because of his conviction that anyone who watches the tape will realize his daughter is not in the comatose condition her husband Michael Schiavo and his attorneys portray.
"I went in with the camera because I expected Terri to be dying very shortly, and I wanted to bring the truth out," Schindler told reporters yesterday. "What happens, happens."
Michael Schiavo's attorney Deborah Bushnell immediately responded to the announcement of the videotape's release, warning that if it is distributed, the Schindler family "will not be allowed to visit Terri unless [Schiavo] or his representative is present."
Bushnell, in a fax to the Schindler's attorney, Patricia Anderson, also warned Schiavo "may seek other remedies from the court, as appropriate."
Gary McCullough, a media consultant who helped distribute the tape, said copies were given to about 10 media outlets. The Schindlers hope Gov. Jeb Bush will take notice and intervene on Terri's behalf.
Yesterday, Bush's spokesman said the governor, who had sent a letter to Judge Greer and filed a friend-of-the-court brief, can do nothing more to save Terri's life, insisting the outcome is in the hands of the court.
Schindler distributed the video at a press conference yesterday in which he revealed Terri tried to convey to him she did not want to die, by bolting upright and trying to get out of her chair when told she might be killed.
As WorldNetDaily reported, Robert and Mary Schindler have been locked in a decade-long legal struggle with their son-in-law over the care and custody of their daughter, who suffered massive brain damage when she collapsed at her home 13 years ago under unexplained circumstances at the age of 26.
Five years ago, Schiavo petitioned the court for permission to remove his wife's feeding tube, claiming she is in a "persistent vegetative state" and had told him years ago she would not want to be kept alive "by tubes" and "artificial" means. Although Terri breathes on her own and maintains her own blood pressure, she requires a simple tube into her abdomen to her stomach for nourishment and hydration.
Judge Greer has ordered the tube removed at 2 p.m. today. Doctors believe if Terry is not fed by other means, she we die in about two weeks.
Terri responding to her mother in older video available on terrisfight.org
Another videotape of Terri was introduced at the initial trial in January 2000. It was shown on television news, and three doctors who saw it contacted Robert Schindler saying that they did not believe his daughter was in a persistent vegetative state, but that they wanted to examine her to be sure.
After examining Terri, all three physicians said they believed she had the ability to swallow because she was not drooling. Affidavits were sent to Greer requesting him to allow a swallowing test, which he summarily denied.
At the time, Michael Schiavo was furious about the video and doctor visit. In response to his demands, Greer issued an order banning further videotaping and any still photography, and a list of "approved" visitors was drawn up.
Protester at Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla. (photo: Gary McCullough, Christian Communication Network)
Meanwhile, a round-the-clock prayer vigil and protest that began Monday continues outside the Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., where Terri resides.
Terri's father, Robert Schindler, admitted the tape was made surreptitiously Aug. 11, 2001, in violation of a court order by Pinellas-Pasco County, Fla., Circuit Judge George Greer.
Bob Schindler at press conference yesterday (photo: Gary McCullough, Christian Communication Network)
The video, which shows Terri laughing and trying to speak, also indicates attempts at rehabilitative therapy, also banned by the court.
But Schindler says he is willing to risk jail because of his conviction that anyone who watches the tape will realize his daughter is not in the comatose condition her husband Michael Schiavo and his attorneys portray.
"I went in with the camera because I expected Terri to be dying very shortly, and I wanted to bring the truth out," Schindler told reporters yesterday. "What happens, happens."
Michael Schiavo's attorney Deborah Bushnell immediately responded to the announcement of the videotape's release, warning that if it is distributed, the Schindler family "will not be allowed to visit Terri unless [Schiavo] or his representative is present."
Bushnell, in a fax to the Schindler's attorney, Patricia Anderson, also warned Schiavo "may seek other remedies from the court, as appropriate."
Gary McCullough, a media consultant who helped distribute the tape, said copies were given to about 10 media outlets. The Schindlers hope Gov. Jeb Bush will take notice and intervene on Terri's behalf.
Yesterday, Bush's spokesman said the governor, who had sent a letter to Judge Greer and filed a friend-of-the-court brief, can do nothing more to save Terri's life, insisting the outcome is in the hands of the court.
Schindler distributed the video at a press conference yesterday in which he revealed Terri tried to convey to him she did not want to die, by bolting upright and trying to get out of her chair when told she might be killed.
As WorldNetDaily reported, Robert and Mary Schindler have been locked in a decade-long legal struggle with their son-in-law over the care and custody of their daughter, who suffered massive brain damage when she collapsed at her home 13 years ago under unexplained circumstances at the age of 26.
Five years ago, Schiavo petitioned the court for permission to remove his wife's feeding tube, claiming she is in a "persistent vegetative state" and had told him years ago she would not want to be kept alive "by tubes" and "artificial" means. Although Terri breathes on her own and maintains her own blood pressure, she requires a simple tube into her abdomen to her stomach for nourishment and hydration.
Judge Greer has ordered the tube removed at 2 p.m. today. Doctors believe if Terry is not fed by other means, she we die in about two weeks.
Terri responding to her mother in older video available on terrisfight.org
Another videotape of Terri was introduced at the initial trial in January 2000. It was shown on television news, and three doctors who saw it contacted Robert Schindler saying that they did not believe his daughter was in a persistent vegetative state, but that they wanted to examine her to be sure.
After examining Terri, all three physicians said they believed she had the ability to swallow because she was not drooling. Affidavits were sent to Greer requesting him to allow a swallowing test, which he summarily denied.
At the time, Michael Schiavo was furious about the video and doctor visit. In response to his demands, Greer issued an order banning further videotaping and any still photography, and a list of "approved" visitors was drawn up.
Protester at Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla. (photo: Gary McCullough, Christian Communication Network)
Meanwhile, a round-the-clock prayer vigil and protest that began Monday continues outside the Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., where Terri resides.
Jeb Bush
'fails' Terri
No action yet to save handicapped woman, despite 10 e-mails per second urging his help
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: October 18, 2003
1:41 p.m. Eastern
By Sarah Foster
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
With Terri Schindler-Schiavo's judge-ordered starvation well into its fourth day, it is clear to her family and supporters that Florida Gov. Jeb Bush probably will not step in and prevent her death, despite indications earlier this week.
Terri responding to her mother in video clip available on terrisfight.org
The family's mood ranges from despair to slow, burning rage at the court system and the refusal of the governor to take charge when a disabled woman's life is at stake, according to Pamela Hennessey, spokeswoman for the Schindler family.
"The judges, and it looks like the governor too, have absolutely failed her as a person," said Hennessey bitterly. "Her rights have not been respected, they have not been maintained, and they are inalienable rights."
As WorldNetDaily reported, Bush met Wednesday morning with Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, and her siblings behind closed doors and assured them that if there were some way he could intervene and prevent the killing of the brain-disabled woman, he would do so.
That same afternoon, Terri's life-sustaining feeding tube was removed by court order, an action long-sought by her husband Michael Schiavo, who also is her legal guardian.
Michael Schiavo (Photo: Baynews9.com)
Michael Schiavo has been living with another woman, Jodi Centonze, with whom he has a daughter and another child about to be born.
Doctors say that without food and water, Terri will die within two weeks, but her parents fear she will die this weekend from drugs they suspect she is receiving to relieve the pain of starvation and dehydration.
Pro-life advocate Randall Terry, who was with the Schindlers at their meeting with the governor, told WorldNetDaily: "We put the question to him: If there is a legal means for you to intervene and it did not violate the [doctrine of] separation of powers, and you were in fact upholding your oath of office, would you do it? He said, 'Yes. I would be very interested. Let us know.'"
Criminal investigation urged
Bush's legal team set to work. Constitutional attorneys and law firms contacted by his legal office explained to the governor in faxed memoranda that he has the authority and the obligation to use his executive powers to prevent Terri's death and urged him to launch a criminal investigation into the case itself.
Gov. Jeb Bush
"Not only does the governor have such power, but the governor has the constitutional duty to prevent any action taken pursuant to such a court order, because such action would violate Ms. Schindler-Schiavo's constitutionally guaranteed 'inalienable right to enjoy and defend life' regardless of her 'physical disability' as secured by Article 1 Section 2 of the Florida State Constitution," declared constitutional attorney Herb Titus, of Chesapeake, Va.
Titus, one of the constitutional experts contacted by the governor's office, represents Judge Roy Moore in his battle over the 10 Commandments monument in the courthouse in Montgomery, Ala.
Attorney Richard Thompson, who heads the Thomas More Law Center, a public-interest law firm in Ann Arbor, Mich., wrote that Terri is "a victim of abuse and neglect," and under Florida law, "it is a crime to abuse or neglect a disabled adult and to encourage another person to do so."
He called on the governor to launch a full-scale criminal investigation into the circumstances of the case "and to take measures to prevent future harm to Ms. Schiavo pending the outcome of the investigation."
The documents were made public Thursday at a noon press conference outside the hospice of the Florida Sun Coast's Woodside Facility in Pinellas Park, where, by order of her husband, Terri has lived isolated from friends and other patients since April 2000.
Schiavo's attorney George Felos, a right-to-die advocate, dismissed the opinions as "ideological and inflammatory rhetoric."
The removal of Terri's feeding tube is the final victory for Michael Schiavo in a battle with Terri's family that has gone entirely in his favor.
As WorldNetDaily reported, the Schindlers had been fighting their son-in-law for 10 years over the lack of care and therapy provided for their daughter, who suffered massive brain damage when she collapsed at her home 13 years ago under mysterious circumstances at the age of 26.
The ongoing dispute escalated five years ago when Schiavo petitioned the court for permission to end his wife's life by removing her feeding tube, insisting she is in a "persistent vegetative state" and maintaining she had told him years before she would not want to be maintained "by tubes" and "artificial means" Although Terri breathes on her on and maintains her own blood pressure, she requires a simple tube into her abdomen to her stomach for nourishment and hydration. The Schindlers and many medical professionals believe that with therapy she could eat and drink without the tube, but Schiavo consistently has prevented that.
The Schindlers fought tenaciously to keep their daughter and the case alive in the courts, but they have been blocked virtually at every turn, particularly by probate Judge George W. Greer of the Pinellas County Circuit Court, who has had charge of the case almost from the beginning. When the seven-member Florida Supreme Court in August turned down a petition to review the case, the way was clear for Schiavo to starve his wife to death.
On Sept. 17, Greer scheduled Oct. 15 as the day Terri's feeding tube would be removed. At the same time, in separate rulings, he denied any rehabilitation for the disabled woman or a chance to be spoon-fed.
Bush's handling of this case is unlikely to win him respect or friends in either camp.
The Clearwater Bar Association denounced him earlier this month for sending a letter in late August to Greer, asking the judge to delay the date for removal of Terri's feeding tube until a guardian ad litem [guardian of the litigation] is appointed who would "independently investigate the circumstances of this case and provide the court with an unbiased view that considers the best interests of Mrs. Schiavo."
Greer said he ignored the letter.
"I read it because it came from the governor," he told the Tampa Tribune. "Beyond that, it's going in the file."
Bush rebuked
The directors and officers of the Clearwater Bar Association were outraged at the governor's letter-writing, seeing it as an intrusion not only on its turf in Pinellas County, but upon the judiciary branch as a whole and a threat to the constitutional structure of American government.
On Oct. 2, the association's directors passed a formal resolution rebuking Bush.
"In attempting to influence the decision of a circuit judge," the governor's actions were "improper, tended to impair the independence of the judiciary, and violated the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers," the resolution reads.
Worse, in their eyes, his actions "undermine and threaten the public's confidence in the independence and objectivity of the judiciary, the rule of law, and the state of Florida's ability to impartially administer justice through its state court system."
The directors called on the Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Bar to "address this matter further," an indication Bush is not going to escape the continuing wrath of the Clearwater Bar Association.
"What concerns me is that the governor felt it appropriate to involve himself officially in a pending civil lawsuit in which neither he nor the state of Florida is a party or witness, for the apparent purpose of influencing the outcome of the case," the association's president Robert Dickinson declared in a press release announcing the resolution. "By doing so the governor violated one of the basic tenets of our constitutional government."
The division of "our constitutional republic," he explained, is that the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government must be separate and distinct.
"The separation of these powers is the cornerstone of the 'checks-and-balances' system of government under which the United States has prospered and each of its citizens expects to be treated fairly," he said.
120,000 e-mails for Terri
When told about the resolution, Pamela Hennessey dismissed the notion that the public's confidence in the judiciary system and rule of law would be shaken if the governor wrote a letter to Greer or intervened to save Terri, or that his doing so would violate the separation-of-powers doctrine.
"If anything, people will lose confidence in the judiciary system if he doesn't step in," she exclaimed.
In addition to acting as spokesperson for the Schindlers, Hennessey is webmistress for the family's website. Through its petition to Bush asking him to intervene, she keeps her finger on the pulse of public opinion.
She reports that since setting up the online petition in late July, the number of e-mails surging through the server to the governor's office has topped 120,000 and are coming in at a rate of 10 per second, so many her side of the server had to be shut down, though they are still going to the governor.
"People are very angry, very cross that he's not stepping in," Hennessey said. "He needs to step in and act as a check upon the actions of the judge and the judicial system.
"The checks and balances that are failing are those of the circuit court," she said. "The judge in this case is immune from the consequences of what he has done. There is obviously nothing to stop him from issuing a death warrant and seeing that is carried out -- and people do not like that. They are very concerned."
An 'unshackled judiciary'
The resolution rebuking Bush was passed before he filed his Oct. 6 amicus [friend-of-the-court] brief in a failed attempt to bring the case under federal jurisdiction. The brief will no doubt prompt an even greater outcry from the Clearwater Bar Association than the letter to Greer, with increasingly vehement charges made about Bush being a threat to the separation-of-powers system.
But attorneys at the AFA Law Center in Tupelo, Miss., challenge those charges. The American Family Association was among those contacted by the governor's legal office for advice on the powers and obligations of the executive branch.
The immediate problem, says the public-interest law firm, is not an over-reaching executive, but an out-of-control judiciary, one that has "unshackled itself from constitutional restraints" and is "embarking on a campaign to impose its own will over the will of the law," as Joe Murray, staff attorney and communications director, put it.
In his memorandum, Law Center attorney Brian Fahling explained to the governor that under the Florida Constitution he has the authority to make certain the laws of the state are "faithfully executed."
Section 943.04 of the Florida statutes authorizes the governor, upon written order, to direct the Department of Criminal Justice, Investigations and Forensic Science, "to investigate violations of any of the criminal laws of the state."
In fact, Bush's own amicus brief cites reasons to believe the statute prohibiting assisted suicide [Section 782.02] is being violated, because -- in the words of the brief -- "Terri's right to life is violated by the state when the state, acting as her guardian, assumes that her wish to live without artificial sustenance is the same as a wish not to be fed at all. The state has an 'unqualified' interest in life."
Again, quoting Bush's own brief, denying Terri oral sustenance creates "an unnecessary conflict with Florida statutory law by implying that physicians may cooperate with a person's alleged express wish not to feed herself."
"The laws of the state of Florida, then, as set forth in the governor's brief, are not being faithfully executed," Fahling wrote. "The authority of the governor to issue an executive order in this case is consonant with his duty to see that the laws are faithfully executed. If the consequences of the husband's exercise of discretion [given him by Judge Greer] are determined to result in the unlawful taking of life, it is entirely appropriate that such actions be interdicted by law enforcement at the direction of the governor."
Bush derelict in his duty?
Not only is it appropriate, it is incumbent upon Bush to do so, Law Center chief counsel Stephen Crampton told WorldNetDaily.
"Failure to do so would be a dereliction of duty," he said.
While the Clearwater Bar Association and the courts insist intervention by the governor would violate the doctrine of separation of powers, there is a second doctrine that Bush runs afoul of if he does not intervene -- the doctrine of checks-and-balances -- in which each branch of government is empowered to act as a check upon actions by the other two branches, Crampton maintains.
The veto power is one of the ways a governor or president can check an action by a state legislature or the Congress.
"That is why enforcement of the laws is in the hands of the executive branch, at every level of government, not in the hands of the legislative body or the courts," said Crampton. "Executive officers that take orders directly from the executive -- not from the legislature or the courts -- to go out and actually implement and enforce whatever law or decree the legislature or court issues. That power lies with the executive branch -- in Terri's case that's the governor. That in and of itself is the embodiment of the check-and-balance system. That is why Governor Bush has every right to weigh in and to take an independent stand with regard to the constitutionality of what the court has done in this case.
"Stepping in for Terri would be analogous to vetoing a piece of legislation," Crampton continued. "It is doing what he is duty-bound to do as the chief executive officer of the state of Florida. The whole concept of checks and balances encompasses the duty to independently weigh the pros and cons of the actions that you're called upon to enforce -- not blind obedience to judge-made rulings
'fails' Terri
No action yet to save handicapped woman, despite 10 e-mails per second urging his help
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: October 18, 2003
1:41 p.m. Eastern
By Sarah Foster
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
With Terri Schindler-Schiavo's judge-ordered starvation well into its fourth day, it is clear to her family and supporters that Florida Gov. Jeb Bush probably will not step in and prevent her death, despite indications earlier this week.
Terri responding to her mother in video clip available on terrisfight.org
The family's mood ranges from despair to slow, burning rage at the court system and the refusal of the governor to take charge when a disabled woman's life is at stake, according to Pamela Hennessey, spokeswoman for the Schindler family.
"The judges, and it looks like the governor too, have absolutely failed her as a person," said Hennessey bitterly. "Her rights have not been respected, they have not been maintained, and they are inalienable rights."
As WorldNetDaily reported, Bush met Wednesday morning with Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, and her siblings behind closed doors and assured them that if there were some way he could intervene and prevent the killing of the brain-disabled woman, he would do so.
That same afternoon, Terri's life-sustaining feeding tube was removed by court order, an action long-sought by her husband Michael Schiavo, who also is her legal guardian.
Michael Schiavo (Photo: Baynews9.com)
Michael Schiavo has been living with another woman, Jodi Centonze, with whom he has a daughter and another child about to be born.
Doctors say that without food and water, Terri will die within two weeks, but her parents fear she will die this weekend from drugs they suspect she is receiving to relieve the pain of starvation and dehydration.
Pro-life advocate Randall Terry, who was with the Schindlers at their meeting with the governor, told WorldNetDaily: "We put the question to him: If there is a legal means for you to intervene and it did not violate the [doctrine of] separation of powers, and you were in fact upholding your oath of office, would you do it? He said, 'Yes. I would be very interested. Let us know.'"
Criminal investigation urged
Bush's legal team set to work. Constitutional attorneys and law firms contacted by his legal office explained to the governor in faxed memoranda that he has the authority and the obligation to use his executive powers to prevent Terri's death and urged him to launch a criminal investigation into the case itself.
Gov. Jeb Bush
"Not only does the governor have such power, but the governor has the constitutional duty to prevent any action taken pursuant to such a court order, because such action would violate Ms. Schindler-Schiavo's constitutionally guaranteed 'inalienable right to enjoy and defend life' regardless of her 'physical disability' as secured by Article 1 Section 2 of the Florida State Constitution," declared constitutional attorney Herb Titus, of Chesapeake, Va.
Titus, one of the constitutional experts contacted by the governor's office, represents Judge Roy Moore in his battle over the 10 Commandments monument in the courthouse in Montgomery, Ala.
Attorney Richard Thompson, who heads the Thomas More Law Center, a public-interest law firm in Ann Arbor, Mich., wrote that Terri is "a victim of abuse and neglect," and under Florida law, "it is a crime to abuse or neglect a disabled adult and to encourage another person to do so."
He called on the governor to launch a full-scale criminal investigation into the circumstances of the case "and to take measures to prevent future harm to Ms. Schiavo pending the outcome of the investigation."
The documents were made public Thursday at a noon press conference outside the hospice of the Florida Sun Coast's Woodside Facility in Pinellas Park, where, by order of her husband, Terri has lived isolated from friends and other patients since April 2000.
Schiavo's attorney George Felos, a right-to-die advocate, dismissed the opinions as "ideological and inflammatory rhetoric."
The removal of Terri's feeding tube is the final victory for Michael Schiavo in a battle with Terri's family that has gone entirely in his favor.
As WorldNetDaily reported, the Schindlers had been fighting their son-in-law for 10 years over the lack of care and therapy provided for their daughter, who suffered massive brain damage when she collapsed at her home 13 years ago under mysterious circumstances at the age of 26.
The ongoing dispute escalated five years ago when Schiavo petitioned the court for permission to end his wife's life by removing her feeding tube, insisting she is in a "persistent vegetative state" and maintaining she had told him years before she would not want to be maintained "by tubes" and "artificial means" Although Terri breathes on her on and maintains her own blood pressure, she requires a simple tube into her abdomen to her stomach for nourishment and hydration. The Schindlers and many medical professionals believe that with therapy she could eat and drink without the tube, but Schiavo consistently has prevented that.
The Schindlers fought tenaciously to keep their daughter and the case alive in the courts, but they have been blocked virtually at every turn, particularly by probate Judge George W. Greer of the Pinellas County Circuit Court, who has had charge of the case almost from the beginning. When the seven-member Florida Supreme Court in August turned down a petition to review the case, the way was clear for Schiavo to starve his wife to death.
On Sept. 17, Greer scheduled Oct. 15 as the day Terri's feeding tube would be removed. At the same time, in separate rulings, he denied any rehabilitation for the disabled woman or a chance to be spoon-fed.
Bush's handling of this case is unlikely to win him respect or friends in either camp.
The Clearwater Bar Association denounced him earlier this month for sending a letter in late August to Greer, asking the judge to delay the date for removal of Terri's feeding tube until a guardian ad litem [guardian of the litigation] is appointed who would "independently investigate the circumstances of this case and provide the court with an unbiased view that considers the best interests of Mrs. Schiavo."
Greer said he ignored the letter.
"I read it because it came from the governor," he told the Tampa Tribune. "Beyond that, it's going in the file."
Bush rebuked
The directors and officers of the Clearwater Bar Association were outraged at the governor's letter-writing, seeing it as an intrusion not only on its turf in Pinellas County, but upon the judiciary branch as a whole and a threat to the constitutional structure of American government.
On Oct. 2, the association's directors passed a formal resolution rebuking Bush.
"In attempting to influence the decision of a circuit judge," the governor's actions were "improper, tended to impair the independence of the judiciary, and violated the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers," the resolution reads.
Worse, in their eyes, his actions "undermine and threaten the public's confidence in the independence and objectivity of the judiciary, the rule of law, and the state of Florida's ability to impartially administer justice through its state court system."
The directors called on the Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Bar to "address this matter further," an indication Bush is not going to escape the continuing wrath of the Clearwater Bar Association.
"What concerns me is that the governor felt it appropriate to involve himself officially in a pending civil lawsuit in which neither he nor the state of Florida is a party or witness, for the apparent purpose of influencing the outcome of the case," the association's president Robert Dickinson declared in a press release announcing the resolution. "By doing so the governor violated one of the basic tenets of our constitutional government."
The division of "our constitutional republic," he explained, is that the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government must be separate and distinct.
"The separation of these powers is the cornerstone of the 'checks-and-balances' system of government under which the United States has prospered and each of its citizens expects to be treated fairly," he said.
120,000 e-mails for Terri
When told about the resolution, Pamela Hennessey dismissed the notion that the public's confidence in the judiciary system and rule of law would be shaken if the governor wrote a letter to Greer or intervened to save Terri, or that his doing so would violate the separation-of-powers doctrine.
"If anything, people will lose confidence in the judiciary system if he doesn't step in," she exclaimed.
In addition to acting as spokesperson for the Schindlers, Hennessey is webmistress for the family's website. Through its petition to Bush asking him to intervene, she keeps her finger on the pulse of public opinion.
She reports that since setting up the online petition in late July, the number of e-mails surging through the server to the governor's office has topped 120,000 and are coming in at a rate of 10 per second, so many her side of the server had to be shut down, though they are still going to the governor.
"People are very angry, very cross that he's not stepping in," Hennessey said. "He needs to step in and act as a check upon the actions of the judge and the judicial system.
"The checks and balances that are failing are those of the circuit court," she said. "The judge in this case is immune from the consequences of what he has done. There is obviously nothing to stop him from issuing a death warrant and seeing that is carried out -- and people do not like that. They are very concerned."
An 'unshackled judiciary'
The resolution rebuking Bush was passed before he filed his Oct. 6 amicus [friend-of-the-court] brief in a failed attempt to bring the case under federal jurisdiction. The brief will no doubt prompt an even greater outcry from the Clearwater Bar Association than the letter to Greer, with increasingly vehement charges made about Bush being a threat to the separation-of-powers system.
But attorneys at the AFA Law Center in Tupelo, Miss., challenge those charges. The American Family Association was among those contacted by the governor's legal office for advice on the powers and obligations of the executive branch.
The immediate problem, says the public-interest law firm, is not an over-reaching executive, but an out-of-control judiciary, one that has "unshackled itself from constitutional restraints" and is "embarking on a campaign to impose its own will over the will of the law," as Joe Murray, staff attorney and communications director, put it.
In his memorandum, Law Center attorney Brian Fahling explained to the governor that under the Florida Constitution he has the authority to make certain the laws of the state are "faithfully executed."
Section 943.04 of the Florida statutes authorizes the governor, upon written order, to direct the Department of Criminal Justice, Investigations and Forensic Science, "to investigate violations of any of the criminal laws of the state."
In fact, Bush's own amicus brief cites reasons to believe the statute prohibiting assisted suicide [Section 782.02] is being violated, because -- in the words of the brief -- "Terri's right to life is violated by the state when the state, acting as her guardian, assumes that her wish to live without artificial sustenance is the same as a wish not to be fed at all. The state has an 'unqualified' interest in life."
Again, quoting Bush's own brief, denying Terri oral sustenance creates "an unnecessary conflict with Florida statutory law by implying that physicians may cooperate with a person's alleged express wish not to feed herself."
"The laws of the state of Florida, then, as set forth in the governor's brief, are not being faithfully executed," Fahling wrote. "The authority of the governor to issue an executive order in this case is consonant with his duty to see that the laws are faithfully executed. If the consequences of the husband's exercise of discretion [given him by Judge Greer] are determined to result in the unlawful taking of life, it is entirely appropriate that such actions be interdicted by law enforcement at the direction of the governor."
Bush derelict in his duty?
Not only is it appropriate, it is incumbent upon Bush to do so, Law Center chief counsel Stephen Crampton told WorldNetDaily.
"Failure to do so would be a dereliction of duty," he said.
While the Clearwater Bar Association and the courts insist intervention by the governor would violate the doctrine of separation of powers, there is a second doctrine that Bush runs afoul of if he does not intervene -- the doctrine of checks-and-balances -- in which each branch of government is empowered to act as a check upon actions by the other two branches, Crampton maintains.
The veto power is one of the ways a governor or president can check an action by a state legislature or the Congress.
"That is why enforcement of the laws is in the hands of the executive branch, at every level of government, not in the hands of the legislative body or the courts," said Crampton. "Executive officers that take orders directly from the executive -- not from the legislature or the courts -- to go out and actually implement and enforce whatever law or decree the legislature or court issues. That power lies with the executive branch -- in Terri's case that's the governor. That in and of itself is the embodiment of the check-and-balance system. That is why Governor Bush has every right to weigh in and to take an independent stand with regard to the constitutionality of what the court has done in this case.
"Stepping in for Terri would be analogous to vetoing a piece of legislation," Crampton continued. "It is doing what he is duty-bound to do as the chief executive officer of the state of Florida. The whole concept of checks and balances encompasses the duty to independently weigh the pros and cons of the actions that you're called upon to enforce -- not blind obedience to judge-made rulings
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by hanover00:
I'm curious as to why this type of completely unrelated post is allowed to remain on this board.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
in this forum - it fits. i would say this falls under the category of, "poltics, government and world events."
I'm curious as to why this type of completely unrelated post is allowed to remain on this board.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
in this forum - it fits. i would say this falls under the category of, "poltics, government and world events."
Her life the last 10 years has had more quality then all her other years probably, because God is communicating to her through spirit. Also Terry has been responding, she has been living a quality life, and is conscious, but just not very responsive to people outside of her parents.
Railbird,
I believe that Bush IS going to intervene because of a bill that was passed today here in Florida, something called the "Terri Bill" or something like that. (Don't quote me here, just overheard the news after my disappointing loss w/Oakland.)
Anyway, there was an analogy of how death-row inmates were MORE HUMANELY executed, (lethal injection, instant painless death,) than Terri Shiavo. I would, in MY MIND imagine that being STARVED TO DEATH, which is what Terri is being done to, would be EXTREMELY painful regardless of her mental state.
I was just upset over the fact that her religious rights were violated as well.
Ok, 'Nuff said.
Peace & God Bless,
Poker Babe
I believe that Bush IS going to intervene because of a bill that was passed today here in Florida, something called the "Terri Bill" or something like that. (Don't quote me here, just overheard the news after my disappointing loss w/Oakland.)
Anyway, there was an analogy of how death-row inmates were MORE HUMANELY executed, (lethal injection, instant painless death,) than Terri Shiavo. I would, in MY MIND imagine that being STARVED TO DEATH, which is what Terri is being done to, would be EXTREMELY painful regardless of her mental state.
I was just upset over the fact that her religious rights were violated as well.
Ok, 'Nuff said.
Peace & God Bless,
Poker Babe
By age 18, each and every one of us should have a living will that defines clearly our wishes for circumstances such as these. Personally, I would hope to be left to die ... not much of a life in that state, and certainly is only prolonging the agony of my loved ones. Keeping her alive is selfish, IMO. Barring a living will, it is the right of next of kin to deny medical treatment (this isn't illegal there, is it?) and her husband is, after all, her next of kin.
Also, to expand on Poker Babe's thoughts -- should euthanasia be legal, this woman could die a more humane death than slow starvation. But apparently we only reserve the right to be put out of misery for our pets and not for ourselves.
Also, to expand on Poker Babe's thoughts -- should euthanasia be legal, this woman could die a more humane death than slow starvation. But apparently we only reserve the right to be put out of misery for our pets and not for ourselves.
