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 Judge Greer and Attorney Gibbs: Death Order Doublespeak

Doublespeak is "language deliberately constructed to disguise or distort its actual meaning, often resulting in a communication bypass. Such language is associated with governmental, military, and corporate institutions."(1)

The purpose of this article is to decode Judge George W. Greer's and Attorney David C. Gibbs III's death order doublespeak and translate it into straight language. 

Many of us are becoming aware that the elderly and incapacitated are being quietly eliminated in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices via the removal of their feeding tubes. Some are being denied regular food and water even though they have the ability to ingest it. These killings are being done "quietly" because withholding naturally ingested food and water is against the law in all 50 states. Presently no judge in the United States of America can cite any statute that renders him the authority to order the death of a person who is not a death-row inmate. Furthermore, there is no Florida law that states that an incapacitated person may be denied  regular food and water. To the contrary, the Florida statutes prohibit such an act.

Judge George W. Greer is well aware of that and has never issued a court order to withhold regular food and water... until now.

Let us look at Judge Greer's apparently legal court orders to remove Terri's nutrition and hydration tube and then we will compare them to his current illegal court order.

In this "death order doublespeak" expose' we are going to document Judge Greer's progression towards euthanasia by noting the changes in the wording of his court orders. We will also identify the doublespeak that is being used to hide this fact.

Judge Greer has issued several court orders for the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. The few that I have been able to locate on the internet are cited below.

Let us first look at a letter Michael Schiavo's attorney wrote to Judge Shames regarding the removal of Terri's "medical treatment." 

May 6, 1997:Letter from Deborah Bushnell to Judge Shames: 

The guardian is aware that the issue of withdrawal or refusal of medical treatment for the ward is a difficult issue in this case and that the ward's parents will need to be involved. 

(Quote source: Letter from Attorney Bushnell to Judge Shames)

Deborah Bushnell's letter was written in regard to the removal of Terri's "medical treatment." At the time this letter was written, feeding tubes were not medical treatment in the state of Florida.

George Felos, attorney for Michael Schaivo, filed a petition on May 11, 1998 to discontinue Terri's artificial life support. This petition was filed eleven months before feeding tubes were legally defined as medical treatment. 

Death Order Doublespeak: Years of Preparation

Below is an excerpt from Judge Greer's Feb. 11, 2000 original order to remove Terri's feeding tube: 

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Petition for Authorization to Discontinue Artificial Life Support of Michael Schiavo, Guardian of the Person of Theresa Marie Schiavo, an incapacitated person, be and the same is hereby GRANTED and Petitioner/Guardian is hereby authorized to proceed with the  discontinuance of said artificial life support for Theresa Marie Schiavo. 

(Quoted from Feb. 11, 2000 Order)

The phrase used in the first court order was "artificial life support."

Next we'll look at Judge Greer's November 22, 2002 court order:

FURTHER ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Michael Schiavo, as Guardian of the Person of Theresa Marie Schiavo, shall withdraw or cause to be withdrawn the artificial life-support (hydration and nutrition tube) from Theresa Marie Schiavo at 3:00 p.m. on January 3, 2003.

(Nov. 22, 2002 order to remove hydration and nutrition tube)

The second court order included the phrase in parentheses, "hydration and nutrition tube," to define artificial life-support. The general public was slowly being indoctrinated to the idea that artificial life-support now includes the simple feeding tube.

Next we will look at an excerpt from Judge Greer's September 17, 2003 court order:

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Guardian, Michael Schiavo, shall cause the removal of the nutrition and hydration tube from the Ward, Theresa Marie Schiavo, at 2:00 p.m. on the 15th day of October, 2003.

(Sept.17,2003 order to remove nutrition and hydration tube)

In the September 17, 2003 court order, the nutrition and hydration tube was not defined as "artificial life-support." The phrase "nutrition and hydration tube" stood alone.

It took years of media doublespeak and "court-ordered starvation" headlines to condition the public to believe that a judge has the authority to order the withholding of all forms of nourishment from a human being in the United States of America. Judge Greer finally did what the media and Terri's Law paved the way for him to do: He ordered the removal of Terri's nutrition and hydration:

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that absent a stay from the appellate courts, the guardian, Michael Schiavo, shall cause the removal of nutrition and hydration, from the Ward, THERESA SCHIAVO, at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, March 18, 2005.

(Feb. 25, 2005 order to remove nutrition and hydration)

Judge Greer does not have the authority to defy the Florida statutes and issue a legally valid order to remove Terri's regular food and water, which is included in the phrase, "nutrition and hydration." However, if the general public—especially the citizens of Clearwater, Florida—treats this order as though it was legal and carries it out, then not only will Terri die as a result of an illegal court order, but case law (law based on judicial precedent rather than statutes) would be established by this precedent.

 

Death Order Doublespeak Collusion: Feb. 25th Court Order is Being Treated as a Reaffirmation of the Oct. 11th Court Order!

After Judge Greer issued his February 25th order to remove any and all forms of nutrition and hydration from Terri Schiavo, David C. Gibbs III, attorney for the Schindlers, filed a petition asking Judge Greer for permission to feed Terri by natural means. The wording of the February 25, 2005 order excludes any type of nutrition or hydration, but a careful reading of Gibbs' petition suggests that he was either unaware of this obvious fact or he was pretending to be unaware of it.

In his Emergency Expedited Motion For Permission to Provide Theresa Schiavo With Food and Water by Natural Means petition, Mr. Gibbs asked the Court "to give them permission to attempt to provide the Ward, THERESA SCHIAVO ("Terri"), with food and water by natural means." Attorney Gibbs' act of asking Judge Greer for permission to feed Terri naturally is sending the message that Greer's illegal court order is valid. Asking Greer for permission to obey the Florida statutes is sending the message that Judge Greer's court order is more authoritative than the laws of the state of Florida.

David Gibbs supported his request to feed Terri naturally by first citing Greer's February 11, 2000 original court order:

On February 11 this Court's Order authorized Petitioner to "proceed with the discontinuance of said artificial life support for Theresa Marie Schiavo."

(Quote source: Motion to allow Natural Feeding)

Next he cited Judge Greer's February 25, 2005 order:

On February 25, 2005, this Court ordered the guardian, Michael Schaivo, to "cause the removal of nutrition and hydration from the Ward, THERESA SCHIAVO at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, March 18, 2005." 

(Motion to allow Natural Feeding)

Attorney Gibbs did not mention the fact that the word "tube" is missing from Greer's February 25th order. The word, "tube" is the difference between medically assisted feeding (legally classified as artificial life support) and the natural manner of feeding, a right that is protected by the Florida statutes.

It was good that Mr. Gibbs pointed out that there are "members of Terri's nuclear family, as well as least one registered nurse," who "are willing  to provide Terri with food and water by natural means." He reminded Judge Greer that Terri is perfectly capable of swallowing her saliva as well as the water used when her teeth were brushed.

Attorney Gibbs went on:

Permitting Terri to ingest in food and water in the natural manner will not violate the Court's 2000 Order that "artificial life support" be discontinued.

(Motion to allow Natural Feeding)

David Gibbs rightly stated that feeding Terri would not violate Greer's original court order. What Gibbs failed to say is that feeding Terri by natural means would violate Greer's February 25th order. It is what David Gibbs did not say that reinforced Greer's dehydration doubletalk.

Gibbs kept citing the original court order because that order is supposed to be carried out on March 18th—the original court order to remove Terri Schiavo's artificial life-support. But Gibbs' reference of the 2000 order is doubletalk because the original court order was not restated on February 25th, nor was it paraphrased. The original order was replaced with a new order on February 25th! Attorney Gibbs did not see fit to mention this in his petition and has not announced this critical change-- which is not even remotely connected to "Terri's wishes"--to the media.

Attorney Gibbs' implication that Terri is under Greer's original order notwithstanding, the fact remains that Terri Schiavo is no longer under Judge Greer's original order to remove her feeding and hydration tube. She is under Judge Greer's amended order to remove all forms of nutrition and hydration. This order is not only not Terri's wish, it is provably illegal.

All forms of nutrition and hydration do not qualify legally as life support. When you eat a meal with your family, are you on life support? You are supporting your life, but you are not receiving "medical treatment" which is what the Sixth Circuit Court of Pinellas County determined that Terri Schiavo did not want. When your family gathers around the table to partake of a meal you are receiving naturally ingested nutrition and hydration. Artificial life support, as it conforms to the Florida statutes in Terri's case, is medically assisted nutrition and hydration, which is delivered by the gastric feeding tube, the nasal feeding tube, or by intravenous feeding.

David C. Gibbs did not make this needful clarification in his petition. He did not mention the HUGE distinction between the "artificial life-support" wording of the original January 11, 2000 court order and the "nutrition and hydration" wording of the present order, which is supposed to be a reaffirmation of the original order!

Gibbs also did not inform Judge Greer in this petition that the February 25, 2005 court order is not legal and thus not enforceable. (The only way Greer's Feb. 25th order will be carried out is through trickery, doublespeak, or collusion.)

Attorney Gibbs actually reinforced Greer's "artificial life support = nutrition and hydration" doublespeak in the following paragraph:

The court determined only that Terri would not wish to live on artificial life support. Discontinuing her "artificial life support" in the form of assisted feeding should not automatically sentence her to death. Instead, Terri should be permitted to eat and drink by natural means. 

Gibbs statement, "Discontinuing her 'artificial life support' in the form of assisted feeding should not automatically sentence her to death" is doublespeak. As an attorney he should be perfectly aware that the wording of the Feb. 25th order most definitely does automatically sentence Terri to death!

David Gibbs went along with the death order doublespeak agenda by refraining from mentioning the obvious when he cited the original finding that Terri would not want to live on life support. This was a prime opportunity to state that since the court determined that Terri would not want to live on artificial life support, Judge Greer had no basis to issue the revised Feb. 25th order that goes far beyond the removal of artificial life support. Gibbs' silence on this matter affirms rather than rebuts Greer's death order doublespeak.

Attorney Gibbs reminded Judge Greer that the court determined only that Terri would not want to live on artificial life support:

This Court determined only that Terri would not wish to live on artificial life support. Discontinuing her "artificial life support" in the form of assisted feeding should not also automatically sentence her to death. 

David Gibbs failed to mention that the Feb. 25th court order is not confined to artificial life-support in the form of assisted feeding!

Gibbs asked Judge Greer for permission to give Terri food and water naturally—as though he was asking for a privilege instead of standing on her right to receive regular food and water per the Florida statutes. 

In the closing statement of his Emergency Expedited Motion For Permission to Provide Theresa Schiavo With Food and Water by Natural Means, David Gibbs again reinforced the "artificial life support is regular food and water" death order doublespeak by giving the impression that Greer's Feb. 25th order is just like his prior ones:

WHEREFORE Respondents respectfully plead that this Court grant them permission to attempt to give food and water to the Ward, THERESA SCHIAVO, by natural means after her "artificial life support" in the form of assisted feeding has been discontinued by Petitioner upon the order of this Court.

One more look at the February 25th Order proves that the court has abandoned the narrow scope of removing Terri's feeding tube and gone on to order the removal of her life by ordering the withdrawal of all forms of food and water:

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that absent a stay from the appellate courts, the guardian, Michael Schiavo, shall cause the removal of nutrition and hydration, from the Ward, THERESA SCHIAVO, at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, March 18, 2005.

(Feb. 25, 2005 order to remove nutrition and hydration)

Under Judge Greer's Feb. 25, 2005 unlawful court order to remove all forms of nutrition and hydration—which no citizen of the state of Florida is legally compelled to obey—Terri may not receive sustenance by way of a feeding tube or naturally-delivered food and water. 

The February 25th order is actually the first real death order Greer has issued in Terri's case. It leaves no room for loving family members to feed her by mouth as Attorney Gibbs' Emergency Expedited Motion For Permission to Provide Theresa Schiavo With Food and Water by Natural Means petition misleads the reader into believing was a possible outcome of Greer's "removal of food and hydration" court order.

Judge Greer's Response to Gibbs' Petition to Feed Terri By Natural Means: Death Order Doublespeak 

Let us read Judge Greer's opening statement in his response:

The CAUSE came before the Court for hearing on March 7, 2005 on Respondents' Expedited Emergency Motion for Permission to Provide Theresa Schiavo with Food and Water by natural means after the assisted nutrition and hydration are discontinued. The Court heard the argument of Daniel C. Gibbs III, Esq, for the Respondents, and of George J. Felos, Esq, for the Petitioner. 

(Greer Denies food and water by mouth

Notice that Greer did not correct Gibbs' "misunderstanding" about the nature of the Feb. 25th court order Terri is presently under. He did not set Gibbs straight and tell him that he has ordered the removal of all nutrition and hydration from Terri Schiavo. 

Instead, Greer continued with the dehydration doubletalk by sidestepping the real issue (the wording of his Feb. 25th court order) and communicating the idea that asking permission to feed Terri naturally would would be like "asking for an experimental procedure." Since Greer has refused to permit Terri to have a swallow test for over ten years, he is saying that feeding her by natural means would be an experiment. Since he denied this experiment in the past, he would do so again:

Having also reviewed portions of declarations or affidavits of several doctors, which were submitted to the Court by Respondents, it has become clear that the motion is part and parcel of Respondents' Fla. R. Civ. P Rule 1.540(b)(5) motion on medical evaluations. The same declarations are being used for both motions and the motion appears to be an alternative pleading to the 1.540(b)(5) motion. Both are asking for an experimental procedure. The Court reasons that if the 1.540(b)(5) motion is granted, there is no need for this motion. If the 1.540(b)(5) motion is denied the Court should not do indirectly what it has not done directly. 

(Greer Denies food and water by mouth

Watch for the doublespeak. Greer denied the request to feed Terri by mouth—not because his amended court order disallows such a thing, but because doing so would be an experimental procedure. This is doublespeak and Terri died because of it.

Doublespeak, doubletalk, and double cross. Judge W. Greer and Attorney  David C. Gibbs are not talking straight. Terri's wish had nothing to do with the Feb. 25, 2005 amended court order that neither one of them will acknowledge!

Language is powerful. "It can hide shocking truth; it can deceive a nation." (2)  The manipulative use of language brought about Terri's death and in time, millions more will follow her... unless we are willing to obey God and stand for the truth—and hold others accountable to tell the truth—in this evil day. 

3/16/05

notes:

(1) http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Doublespeak

(2) http://dpingles.ugr.es/lies/burnside_doublespeak.htm

Return to: Judge Greer's Illegal Feb. 25, 2005 Court Order

Also see: Scientology Vs Terri Schiavo , Judge Greer's Scientologist Campaign Manager

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