Terri Schiavo died this morning.

This case makes me so sad, mostly because it is impossible to tell what is real, what is spin, and what are outright lies when viewed through the MSM filter.

Did she really want to be starved and dehydrated to death? We will never know that for sure, because she left no living will. Is it state-sanctioned murder on the part of her husband? We will probably never know either.

I think that if even half of what people fighting to keep Terri alive were saying about Micheal Schiavo is true, he himself should be locked up and left to starve. While I'm not generally in favour of the death penalty (as our flawed justice system makes so many mistakes), if it could ever be proven that Terri wouldn't have wanted to die, he's guilty of not only murder, but murder and torture.

I've seen claims that Michael Schiavo hasn't allowed an MRI or PET scan of Terri (which is horrifying), he had abused her in the past and so he banned examinations which might uncover it, he banned any rehabilitation efforts (sometime after suing for and receiving money for her care), he's banned her family members (her brother) from visiting, he sought out lawyers and doctors dedicated to "right-to-die" causes and blindsided her parents with the case. I don't know if all or any of that is true, but my impression of him first started to slip to the negative side when I heard how Terri was first injured - her heart stopped due to a chemical imbalance brought on by an eating disorder. I mean, I would hope that if Matt ever had an eating disorder (or any other medical problem), I would seek help for him before HIS FRICKIN' HEART STOPPED.

However - we will likely never know if any of this is true. Maybe she would have wanted to die. But I think that in a case where the wishes of a person can not be proven, we should err on the side of life. After all, if wishes or intentions are conclusively proven later, we can always change course. There's no coming back from death.

I hope Terri is at peace, and her parents and siblings can find solace in knowing that she is with the Lord now.

Update: Cementing my opinion that Micheal Schiavo is a total and utter ass, he wouldn't allow her parents to be with her as she died.