Illinois Right to Life Committee


Double Standard on Legal Issues?


PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, March 30, 2005

CONTACT:      Illinois Right to Life Committee
William Beckman, Executive Director, 312-422-9300

Double Standard on Legal Issues?

Media commentators on the Terri Schiavo case have criticized attempts to introduce new evidence in the case.  Some have claimed such action would threaten the functionality of the court system.  If Terri was on death row, do you think these same commentators would be criticizing attempts to introduce new evidence that might prove innocence?  Why is it that they are so opposed to new evidence that Terri might not be in a persistent vegetative state or evidence that she even tried to express her desire to live?

If you mention the efforts by Governor Jeb Bush to save Terri’s life, you will immediately be confronted with concerns that such action violates the separation of powers between branches of government.  If Terri was on death row, would they have the same concerns?  Apparently not!  Remember when Governor George Ryan decided to commute the sentences of everyone on death row in Illinois?   Did the commentators criticize him for violating provisions of Illinois law on the death penalty?  Did they complain that he was overstepping the judiciary by revising the sentences of all death row inmates?  Absolutely not!   They began suggesting that Ryan should be nominated for a Nobel Prize. 

In contrast, their reaction to Jeb Bush suggesting that he might take custody of Terri Schiavo to protect her from imminent death was quite different.  They immediately suggested that if he took such an action, he should be impeached.  Why is Governor Bush's suggestion to take custody of Terri Schiavo viewed so differently than Governor Ryan's action that overrode numerous court decisions on the appropriate punishment for convicted criminals? 

If anyone should be impeached, it is Judge George Greer!  Greer has continually denied all attempts by Terri’s parents to present evidence on the two key issues in this case.  First, did Terri ever express concerns about living with a feeding tube?  Second, is Terri really in a persistent vegetative state?  There is conflicting information on both of these points, but Judge Greer was only willing to consider one side.  His rulings were consistently in favor of Terri’s estranged husband, Michael.  Now Greer's rulings are responsible for Terri's ongoing painful starvation.  This is judicial homicide, or as Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass called it, murder.

William Beckman
Executive Director
Illinois Right to Life Committee
65 E. Wacker Place, Suite 800
Chicago, IL 60601
312-422-9300
beckman@illinoisrighttolife.org
www.illinoisrighttolife.org

 

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Illinois Right to Life Committee, founded in 1968, is the oldest Pro-Life educational organization in Illinois.