It's kind of ironic, because five years ago I was awake when I received the breaking news that Janet Reno sent federal agents to raid the Gonzalez home in Miami, Florida to snatch Elian Gonzalez through an illegal search warrant around 4:30 or so before dawn. I even saw the Pulitzer Prize winning picture of the federal agent pointing the gun at Elian and Lazaro hot off the presses.
I feel just as powerless now as I did then, because you knew without a shadow of doubt that an evil injustice was being committed as you watched, and the one who was doing this would get away with it and there was nothing you could do about it. It leaves an empty pit at the bottom of your stomach, and reminds you that at times this is a very cruel world.
But these are the rules we play with. It would be nice to have a justice system where every guilty person would be punished and every innocent person would get justice, but as with anything that is controlled by men, it is never foolproof. This is one of the times where the problems with the system become more glaring than ever.
Terri Schindler didn't do a thing to anyone. She didn't kill anyone, try to swindle money from anyone, nor did she commit a crime. But people who did will get more due process than she's getting.
The Schindlers probably have one more chance, and that's the Florida legislature stepping in with a law making it illegal for disabled people to be denied food (actually, it's already a law, but a legal loophole allows Michael Schiavo to do it anyway). But by the time that's passed and signed, Terri may be dead already. It's a shame.