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Michael Schiavo's Attorney Holds Press Conference

Aired March 31, 2005 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: As promised, live to Dunedin, Florida. Let's hear from Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS) GEORGE FELOS, MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S ATTORNEY: ... my condolences to the entire Schiavo and Schindler family and all those in the country and around the world who are grieving at Terri's loss. I wanted to relay to you a course of events that I witnessed. I went down, along with my co-counsel Deborah Bushnell, to the hospice of the Florida Sun Coast, the Woodside facility yesterday, approximately 10:30.

And the two of us were there continuously until we left this morning after Terri's death at approximately 11:45 a.m. today. What I didn't mention, which I can mention now, we met Mr. Schiavo at a room that he has been living in or had lived in for the past 14 days at the hospice facility. As I mentioned before, he's been -- except for his limited media appearances, he has been with Terri continuously since the feeding tube was removed two weeks ago. And he's lived at the hospice facility in a separate room just down the hall from Terri.

It was evident upon first seeing Terri yesterday that she was entering into the final stages of her death process. She went through intermittent periods of rapid breathing, which I'm told is called kussmaul breathing. She would go into periods of labored breathing. Her -- progressively, over the period of time, more than 24 hours we were there, you can see evidence of mottling on her extremities, on her hands, on her legs. That means that the heart just could not pump blood to the extremities and the mottling were red spots. Her limbs became progressively colder.

And as time -- as time went on, it was evident that Terri was going through the final stages of her death process. The -- throughout the first day, we were there yesterday. Of course, we were concerned with the filings in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court. And we had to address those.

From Mr. Schiavo's point of view and for all of us there, we realized that these were last-ditch legal maneuvers on the part of Terri's family. But nonetheless, you can never predict what a court may do or may not do. And it was certainly an added stress on Mr. Schiavo. And in a way, cruel.

No person, no family in the United States having to go through the death process for a loved one and to have a loved one on death's door should have the added worry that a panel of judges is going to order an ambulance to come or politicians are going to take last-ditch maneuvers to try to interfere with the death process that your loved one has chosen and is almost -- is almost completed.

We had the opportunity -- well, let me rephrase that word. We viewed some of the media coverage when we were taking breaks over that period of time. And as you know, I haven't made a statement for a number of days. I've gotten calls from the media to respond to various developments in the case. I can just tell you that Mr. Schiavo's overriding concern here was to provide for Terri a peaceful death with dignity.

And I emphasize it because this death was not for the siblings and not for the spouse and not for the parents. This was for Terri. She has a right -- she has a right to die peaceably in a loving setting and with dignity, and that was his overriding concern. I don't want to -- and that's one reason why we haven't made statements and haven't responded to the press the past two or three days, because we felt it was inappropriate in these circumstances, having Terri in her final death process.

We did hear some things on television that were distressing. I just want to -- I just want to mention one of them, in particular, because we did seem to see a parade of politicians and other people come in and out of the grounds in order to make statements or give their opinions.

There was a priest, I believe his name was Father Pavone, who spoke on a number of occasions as the Schindlers' spokesman. It was very disquieting to hear the priest issue venom and make extremely harsh statements about Mr. Schiavo, about what was going on. I know the priest mentioned he was the head of a pro-life organization, and he has a strong feeling, a strong feeling of that. We felt that was highly inappropriate under the circumstances.

I will contrast that to the words spoken by Reverend Jackson and also in my conversations with Reverend Jackson. Although we didn't agree with Reverend Jackson's point-of-view about removal of Terri's artificial life support, it was evident and clear from his statements and his conversations to me that he came in good faith in a spirit of healing to try to bring -- to try to bring this family together.

And with Father Pavone, instead of words of reconciliation, instead of words of healing, instead of words of compassion or understanding, which you might expect from a spiritual person, we had a platform for ideological agenda. We found that very counterproductive and disquieting.

As we progressed into the evening yesterday, I also want to explain that Mr. Schiavo tried to spend as much time with Mrs. Schiavo as was possible. When he was in the room visiting, when we got word from law enforcement that visitors from the Schindler family or Schindler friends wanted to visit, Mr. Schiavo promptly left the room. We all went down the hall. We -- they came in and visited. They visited for as long as they wanted to. And when they were -- when they had left, we came back up the hall to stay with Terri again.

So Mr. Schiavo tried to be as respectful as he could to the wishes of the family. As the evening progressed last night, it became more evident that we were reaching the final hours. There were times where Terri's breathing process was very labored. And at one time, we thought the end might be near. A Hospice worker came and repositioned Terri. It eased her breathing.

Mr. Schiavo, his brother, Brian, myself, and Attorney Bushnell spent the night with Mrs. Schiavo. And let me also -- let me also state, throughout this -- throughout this entire process were literally angels of mercy, of the healthcare providers, the workers of the hospice. It was just unbelievable to see the incredible amount of compassion, warmth and love and caring and skill which they used throughout this entire process to help Mrs. Schiavo have a death with dignity.

At approximately 7:00 this morning, we got word that the Schindler siblings, along with Father Pavone, wanted to visit. We promptly vacated the room. They were in the room from 7:00 to 8:45 in the morning. At approximately 8:45, we were -- a hospice worker -- hospice administrator came down to the room in which we were staying and mentioned that we're entering the final process, you'd better go -- to Michael, you better go and see Terri because now may be the time.

At that time, we asked whether the Schindler siblings and Father Pavone were still there, and we were told this. And I want to be very accurate about this. We were told by the hospice administrator that they requested the visitors, the Schindlers and Father Pavone, to please leave the room because the nurses -- the hospice personnel needed to do an assessment.

We had no knowledge of this. We didn't request an assessment. This is the information we received from the hospice administrator. At that time, the hospice administrator said that Bobby Schindler was resistant to leaving the room and got into an argument or dispute with the law enforcement official and suggested that he wanted to remain in the room with Mr. Schiavo and a police officer.

Mr. Schiavo made the decision that that was not appropriate under the circumstances. The Schindlers had just been there for an hour and 45 minutes, and it was very disconcerting to hear that Bobby Schindler apparently had some dispute with law enforcement. I want to reemphasize, again, Mr. Schiavo's overriding concern was Mrs. Schiavo has a right and had a right to die with dignity. And die in peace. She had a right to have her last and final moments on this earth be experienced by a spirit of love and not of acrimony.

And he just -- Mr. Schiavo was not going to permit a potentially explosive situation, knowing that there was just a dispute with law enforcement, and also the presence of a law enforcement officer at Mrs. Schiavo's deathbed at that time. Again, she deserved better, and that was the decision that Mr. Schiavo made, and I fully support it. I believe it was the appropriate decision.

I want to add, as well, that to our understanding, Mr. and Mrs. Schindler were nowhere near the hospice facility at that period of time. In fact, it's our understanding, from what we heard on news reports, that Mrs. Schindler chose not to visit or see Terri again since Easter Sunday. So at approximately -- now it was quarter of 9:00, we entered Mrs. Schiavo's room.

It was apparent that it was the final moments for Mrs. Schiavo. She died at approximately 9:00 a.m. Her husband was present, by her bed, cradling her. His brother, Brian, was there. I was there, along with attorney Bushnell. And many workers and caregivers from the hospice of the Florida Sun Coast were there, as well.

Mrs. Schiavo died a calm, peaceful, and gentle death. At that time of death, approximately 9:00, the people in the room stayed with her body for a period of time. We asked the Hospice facility -- we had asked the Hospice facility how the Schindlers had wanted to be notified of Mrs. Schiavo's death. It's our understanding that they had called Mrs. Schindler and Mrs. Schindler gave a home number and a cell phone number in which to be notified.

We made absolutely no statements to the press or calls to the press or released any information until the hospice administrator informed us that they had personally not only called the Schindlers and said there's a change in Terri's condition, but waited until the Schindlers came to the hospice and were informed by the hospice personnel that Terri had died.

We -- at that time, again, Mr. Schiavo vacated Terri's room. It's our understanding that the Schindlers spent some time with Terri's body. They were free to spend as much time as they chose with her body. After they left, the hospice workers bathed Terri's body, and Mr. Schiavo and all of us went back in to spend some more time with Terri.

I also want to mention that after that, Mr. Schiavo left, having seen Terri for the last time. The medical examiner had been called to pick up Terri's body. And before Terri's body was removed from the facility, there was a gathering of at least 30, minimum 30 to 40, hospice workers who formed a circle around the body, which was now on the medical examiner's gurney before being removed from hospice.

It was a very emotional scene. You have to remember that many of these hospice workers have cared for Terri for over a five-year period. I can't describe in words their dedication. There were nurses and workers who refused to go home, because at the end of their shift, Terri hadn't passed away yet and wanted to be with her when they -- when she died.

The Hospice workers, as well as law enforcement and the personnel from the Florida -- from the medical examiner's office, stood around Terri. The Hospice chaplain said prayers. It was a very -- it was a very emotional moment for many of us there. Her death process -- her body was treated with the utmost care and the utmost respect, and then she was removed from the hospice by the medical examiner.

That is what I wanted to relay factually. I want to also come back to the -- what we've heard are angry accounts about alleged denial of the family members to be with Terri. I can just say that under the circumstances, Mr. Schiavo tried as best he could, but paramount for him was Terri and her death process. And I want to say just another word about Father Pavone. Had there been words of reconciliation, words of compassion, words of hope, words of love from him, perhaps he could have been instrumental in some sort of healing for this family. It's a tragedy. It's a tragedy that they all were not there and couldn't be there at the time of Terri's passing. I think it's a shame that opportunity was lost, that he chose to act as an ideolog, using the pulpit, rather than use the pulpit for some healing in this case. So that's the statement I have to make. I'll be happy to take any questions.

QUESTION: Now that Terri Schiavo's dead, how do you square the fact that you say she died with dignity when, in effect, she starved to death? What dignity is there in starving someone to death?

FELOS: Well, I'm sure you know that that's an inaccurate question in that patients don't starve to death from removal of artificial provision of hydration and nutrition. Let me finish. The overriding issue in this case was her choice. Whether you might disagree with the evidence or the quantum of proof or the reliability of the witnesses and whatever you -- whatever opinion you may have, the court, through a grueling process, found, by clear and convincing evidence, through the testimony of three witnesses, relaying seven conversations, that Mrs. Schiavo said, no tubes for me. I don't want to remain artificially. I think affording a patient their choice to die in the manner they choose is not -- is certainly a death with dignity and not something that was just described. Yes?

QUESTION: Yes, a lot of people have accused Michael Schiavo of killing his wife, but take us through his emotions in the last final minutes, what he was feeling (INAUDIBLE).

FELOS: Well, I don't want to put any spin on it. And I'm -- in a way, I'm reluctant because these were very personal and private moments. But I will tell you that it was evident to everyone -- everyone around him, the profound emotion and loss of Mr. Schiavo. It was clear to everyone that he loved Terri deeply, and her passing was a tremendous loss for him. And believe me, that was expressed in the emotional terms that you might associate with that.

Yes.

QUESTION: Mr. Felos, with both parties knowing that the end was near, why wasn't something worked out so that there would not be this last-minute kerfuffle, so to speak, between the families and the -- they won't let me in, but we wanted to go in. Why was that not worked out?

FELOS: You know, I don't have an exact answer for you. I mean, there are many reasons. The level of acrimony hurled at Mr. Schiavo by the Schindlers -- I mean, he's been called a murderer, a wife abuser. Those are not -- that is not conduct and behavior that lead to reconciliation. To have your spokesman -- this Father Pavone -- accuse them of intolerable cruelty is not something that leads to reconciliation.

I wish that some healing had occurred. Unfortunately, in this case, it didn't.

QUESTION: When do you expect the results of the autopsy to be made public?

FELOS: It's my understanding that there are two types of results: the macroscopic and the microscopic, and that the macroscopic, which is the results of the findings that you can see in evidence and weigh, can be released very quickly. But the results that involve further testing, microscopic work and more detailed work could take weeks to be released.

Yes.

QUESTION: Do you have any idea, sir, how long it will take before her body can be released so Mr. Schiavo could take her home?

FELOS: My understanding is that that is a relatively quick process, but I don't know the specific amount of time.

Yes.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) -- is there any indication that there is any kind of memorial service (INAUDIBLE)? Any discussions?

FELOS: No, there's been no discussion of that. You have to understand that from Mr. Schiavo's side, he's been living at the hospice for the past two weeks, not only in the midst of his wife's death process, but fending off politicians and the United States Congress and Governor Bush and the Department of Children and Families.

So there has not -- you know, frankly, there were many times through this process where we didn't know if her death process would be completed. So, you know, we really haven't gotten -- or he hasn't gotten that far. I would hope -- I mean, I would hope and pray that there can be some sort of reconciliation for this family. I don't know if that can happen. I hope it can.

QUESTION: You mentioned he was cradling her as she died. Can you go into a little more detail about that. And did he say anything to her?

FELOS: Well, again, out of respect for the privacy of that moment, I'm not going to comment further on that.

QUESTION: How many people were in the room at the time, approximately?

FELOS: There were, I believe, three or four hospice workers, of course, Mr. Schiavo, his brother, myself, Ms. Bushnell and Mrs. Schiavo.

Yes.

QUESTION: So the police were gone?

QUESTION: How about law enforcement? Were there law enforcement in the room?

QUESTION: Can you tell us the -- what we're hearing about the dispute between cremation and burial?

FELOS: Well, to my understanding, there is no dispute. That's a matter that has been resolved by the court. Prior to Mrs. Schiavo's feeding tube, both parties presented to the court what they felt was the appropriate disposition of Mrs. Schiavo's remains, and the court ordered that cremation would be appropriate. And so Mr. Schiavo intends to pursue that. Yes.

QUESTION: Are you familiar with President Bush's remarks he made after Terri's death as (INAUDIBLE)...

FELOS: I didn't hear the president's remarks. My understanding of what was -- what I've heard people relay is that basically, the president said, in these type of matters, when there's a dispute, we should err on the side of life. And if that is paraphrasing what the president said, it is beyond question that not only the courts of Florida, but the courts of the United States of America have given tremendous deference and respect for the right of life and the sanctity of life. I can't imagine -- I don't think there has been any case -- let me give you an example, because we were still filing briefs with the 2nd District Court of Appeal for intervention -- against intervention of Department of Children and Families as of yesterday.

Yesterday morning I filed a brief before going down to the hospice. And there have been 22 -- 22 appeals just in the Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal in this case; numerous applications to the Florida supreme court, the federal courts. The United States Supreme Court has declined to intervene five times. For me, it's impossible to conceive how a fuller and fairer airing of the facts of this case and the law involved could be made.

And the other thing I want to mention, we've heard a lot -- we've heard the phrase a lot, "the sanctity of life, the sanctity of life, respect for life" as the basis for the opponents to carrying out Terri's wishes in this case. And I would just suggest, since there seems to be a national debate and a national reflection on this, that perhaps a lot of the opposition to Mrs. Schiavo's death here had more to do with the fear of death rather than the sanctity of life.

Yes.

QUESTION: Once the body is release...

FELOS: Excuse me?

QUESTION: Once the body is released...

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: Is it going to be cremated immediately, or Mr. Schiavo will allow some kind of service for the family?

FELOS: I don't know. I don't know the answer to that question.

QUESTION: George, was there a life insurance policy for Terri Schiavo?

FELOS: Not to my knowledge. I've said this before. To my understanding, Mr. Schiavo will not inherit a penny through life insurance, through intestacy or through other means as a result of Terri's death.

QUESTION: George, you say to your knowledge.

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: But that leads me to believe that you're not 100 percent sure. Are you saying that there is one or there isn't one?

FELOS: To my knowledge, there isn't. I know of no life insurance policy. My client knows of no life insurance policy. If John Doe in Texas got a policy out on Mrs. Schiavo's life, I don't know about it. But to our knowledge, there simply is no life insurance policy.

Yes.

QUESTION: Do you anticipate, Mr. Felos, any point that Michael Schiavo will be going to talk to us?

FELOS: I don't know. It's simply at this point, he's in grief. He has gone through an excruciating process involving the death of the wife he loves very much, on top of having that spotlighted around the world. I don't know what Mr. Schiavo's plans will be about speaking to any members of the media in the short term or the long term. I just know for him, as for, I'm sure, every other participant in this case, they need time to heal.

Yes.

QUESTION: It sounds like -- getting back to the permission to be in there, it sounds like Michael Schiavo was feeling angry, maybe a little bitter about some of the comments that were made on the Schindler side. But there are definitely people who are saying, why couldn't he in the final hour, turn the other way and let a brother or sister be there? Apparently there was an attorney in the room, yet her own brother and sister were not allowed to be there with her. Was there ever any question of that? And why didn't that happen?

FELOS: Now, first lest me clarify, I did not see any anger or bitterness -- those are your words; I didn't describe them -- on the part of Mr. Schiavo. This was a split-second decision that had to be made by Mr. Schiavo, having heard from the hospice nurses, you better come right now. And, oh, by the way, your brother-in-law just got into a dispute with the police outside of her room. And do you want him to be there with a police officer?

And he made a split-second decision then to say no. You have to understand, Mr. Schiavo probably hasn't slept for days himself, and I think it was -- I don't think it was a decision made by him out of spite, out of animus, but out of regard for Terri. He -- I think he appropriately decided that she had a right to spend her final moments on earth without a policeman standing next to her and the possibility of an altercation in her room.

QUESTION: So there were no police in the room when (OFF-MIKE)

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... maybe the whole family and Michael Schiavo could have all been there at the same time?

FELOS: Well, I'm saying, No. 1, the parents were not there -- were not there at the time, and I'm saying, I don't know, I don't know what would have happened. The only question, the only point that I made is that certainly the very harsh and hateful words that we heard from many people over the television, and especially from Father Pavone certainly was not constructive in leading to any sort of reconciliation, which perhaps may have made that possible.

(CROSSTALK)

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: So, there were no (OFF-MIKE) within that room (OFF- MIKE) what the colors, the lighting was (OFF-MIKE) Could you hear the protesters outside? (OFF-MIKE)

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) the stuffed animals.

FELOS: Yes.

Terri did have at the time of her death the stuffed tabby kitty under one arm. She had other stuffed animals around her. Some beautiful soul sent -- just sent us for Michael a gorgeous bouquet of flowers with lilies and white roses and red roses, just a gorgeous display of flowers yesterday that we brought to the hospice with us.

Whoever you are, we thank you. Those were by Terri's bedside at the time of her death. There were other flowers in her room. Music was playing very soft, soothing music for a good part of the day. It was not playing at the -- it was not playing at the time of her death. It was -- her death occurred still in the earlier morning hours. The hospice facility itself was relatively quiet. We did not hear any protesters outside. It was a very peaceful and calm setting.

QUESTION: Have you been able to hear protesters often over the last couple of days at other points (OFF-MIKE) from within her room?

FELOS: No, no.

QUESTION: Sir, you're...

FELOS: Yes. QUESTION: You are an advocate for Michael. But, certainly, you can understand that the family also (OFF-MIKE)

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) Can you talk a little bit about the (OFF- MIKE) point of view for what they went through as well. You've talked very sympathetically about Michael.

FELOS: Well, I started my comments by saying that my heart goes out to the Schiavo family and to the Schindler family. Losing your daughter, losing your sibling, losing your wife under any circumstances is just a heart-wrenching, a heart-wrenching and difficult, a difficult thing.

And I'm sure it has been very difficult for the Schindlers and difficult for all those concerned. As I said before, my condolences go out to them, and I'm sure the -- I'm sure across the country and across the world that people will be praying, I hope praying for all the participants in this case.

QUESTION: So, sir, there were no policeman in the room when she passed?

FELOS: No.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) ordered them out?

FELOS: Well, no. No, the police were never in the room. The police were stationed outside of Mrs. Schiavo's room.

The only time that I can tell you that we saw the police inside the room in that, oh, 26-, 27-hour period I believe was last night when they had what's called a lockdown. They had a breach of their perimeter, and when they have a breach of the perimeter, an officer comes inside, closes the door and stands against the door. To my knowledge, that was the only time that an officer was actually inside the room.

QUESTION: Where was this alleged dispute between Bobby Schindler and the police?

FELOS: Well, I've answered that about two or three times.

Yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) have put cameras a that hospice and said, Michael and Jodi, you have your kids. Please give us back our child. At the end, was there ever any consideration on Michael Schiavo's part to maybe do that?

FELOS: No, because this case -- as this was Terri's death, a death that she deserved to have with dignity, this was also about her wishes. And that has been the guiding principle in this case from day one, that she had a right to express her medical treatment choice. She expressed her wishes, and she had a right to have that decision carried out. And, as the courts have said over and over again, the case was not about her parents, was not about her husband, but was -- it was about Terri. And for that reason, for that reason, no, Mr. Schiavo did not consider that?

(CROSSTALK)

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: Sir, (OFF-MIKE) what will be Terri Schiavo's legacy?

FELOS: I don't know.

It's -- being so close to this, and having really no wider perspective, it's hard to say. I certainly think that Mrs. Schiavo's death, which all of us have experienced one way or another, has led to a family dialogue, a community dialogue and a national dialogue and perhaps a worldwide dialogue about death, dying, the dying process, the rights of the individual, the interests of society, how those are balanced, and how these decisions can be made and implemented.

I said -- I believe I said at a prior press conference that death is one of the last taboo subjects in our society. We don't like to think about it, contemplate it, and certainly not plan for our own death. And I think one of her legacies may be that finally we have matured as a society and come to grips with this question and can look it straight on and start to deal with it in a responsible manner.

QUESTION: Follow-up question. Is it your hope that this situation may prevent other families from going through it? And, out of curiosity, (OFF-MIKE) can you tell us, does Michael have (OFF-MIKE)

FELOS: Yes, Michael has a living will. I have a living will I've had for years.

The law gives you the right to make your own medical treatment choices. That's one of the most personal and private decisions that you can make in your lifetime. At what point do you say medical treatment is enough and I don't want I don't want any more? And this case demonstrates more than anything could demonstrate that, if you don't take personal responsibility and make your wishes known and do that in a formal sense, then your wishes may not be carried out, not only to your own personal harm, but to the destruction of your family and loved ones.

So, this is a clarion call to everyone to make their wishes known in an appropriate way.

Yes.

QUESTION: Can you tell us what time the body was removed and who was with her at the time? Did Michael go with her (OFF-MIKE)

FELOS: The -- I would say probably -- and, you know, you have to remember, I haven't slept in about -- I didn't sleep at all last night, and I kind of feel more like a hospice worker than I do an attorney at the moment, but I would say it was at least a couple hours after Mrs. Schiavo's death that family members had an opportunity to be with the body.

Her body was washed and prepared. Hospice held their ceremony before removal, so I would say we're looking at perhaps 11:00 or 11:30 that it was removed by the medical examiner's office.

Yes.

QUESTION: Is the plan still that her body or her ashes will be buried in the Philadelphia suburbs?

FELOS: That's my understanding.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: And do you know if the cremation will occur here before?

FELOS: Yes. That's my information.

Yes.

QUESTION: Mr. Felos, as you know, some people regard this not as Terri's wishes, but (OFF-MIKE) act of murder. I'm wondering if you can tell us, is Mr. Schiavo concerned that someone may now come after him or his girlfriend or his children or even his (OFF-MIKE)

FELOS: I believe it's obviously all our hopes that, with Mrs. Schiavo's passing, that the best legacy for Mrs. Schiavo is to have everyone peaceably move on with their lives.

I can tell you that Mr. Schiavo acted in utmost good faith and concern for his wife, as found by the courts over and over again. And I'll simply leave it at that. No one expects that to occur. And, obviously, we all hope that it doesn't.

QUESTION: Sir, you mentioned that Michael Schiavo has a living will. Are you ready to say what his wishes are as expressed in that living will?

FELOS: No, I can't.

QUESTION: George, can you tell me, has your client, Michael Schiavo, or yourself been approached about movie deals, book deals? If it hasn't happened now, are either one of you open to doing that and being compensated financially for what's happened here?

FELOS: I'll answer it in this way.

As early as the first trial, which was in January of 2000, we received on behalf -- we received on behalf of Mr. Schiavo some inquiries. Over the years, some of those type of inquiries have filtered through. And our response has always been that we're not interested in discussing this. It's an inappropriate subject, and we haven't discussed it or entertained any inquiries or offers. As to what may happen in the future, I don't know.

QUESTION: Are you saying that the Schindlers actually wanted to have some kind of movie made, that they were actually interested (OFF- MIKE)

FELOS: I'm not saying that at all. The question was regarding Mr. Schiavo.

Yes.

QUESTION: Can you tell us about Mrs. Schiavo's living conditions at the hospice and where they were and what they were like?

FELOS: Well, it was -- in fairness to hospice, it was a very nice room, obviously small, a tiny bathroom, just one room that had a bed in it and a couch and a chair, but, of course, Michael has been living there for a good period of time with one or more of his brothers for the last day or so with myself and Ms. Bushnell.

And so it sort of looked like after a while everyone was camping, as you might expect. We were just -- Mr. Schiavo was just very grateful to the hospice facility to give him the opportunity to be so close by Terri during this two-week process.

QUESTION: What was the proximity to Terri's room?

FELOS: It was down the hall.

QUESTION: Can you tell us where Michael is today and what plans (OFF-MIKE)

FELOS: No, I have -- I believe that he's left the hospice facility, and I have no comment on his -- I have no comment on his current location or immediate plans.

QUESTION: George, let me ask you, if I could, please.

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: You're saying again, if the priest -- I forgot this man's name -- hadn't used words that, as you said, were so venomous, that maybe Michael's heart may have been moved a bit to do something a little different, maybe a little compensation, a little moving here and there between both parties.

But the converse of that, is it -- was it Michael that was spiteful or held a grudge and said, you know what? You've been awfully nasty to me. Why should I do anything for you?

FELOS: I don't think the latter. I don't think the latter is the case.

See, the thing -- the thing about spirit and mercy is that they transcend the mind. That's the nature of spirit. It transcends bitterness. It transcends enmity. And all I'm saying is that it was unfortunate in this situation, through the priest that they chose to be with them, the possibility of that occurring was minimized.

I'll just take one more question.

Yes.

QUESTION: Were the Schindlers allowed to take any kind of memento, like a lock of hair or anything from Terri?

FELOS: Yes.

We were -- Mr. Schiavo was asked after Terri died and before the Schindlers went in to be with Terri whether the Schindlers could remove items from the room and take things from the room. And he said, yes, they could. They could take what they wanted. And I don't know if they availed themselves of that or took any items, but he had no objection to that and honored that request.

OK. Thank you.

LIN: All right. You've just heard a pretty lengthy news conference by George Felos, who represents Michael Schiavo, Terri Schiavo's husband.

And we learned in greater detail from his side of the story exactly what happened in the moments leading up to Terri Schiavo's death. You heard a name, Father Frank Pavone, and some controversial statements that George Felos and Michael Schiavo felt that they needed to address, remarks that George Felos call venomous.

This is what Father Pavone had to say earlier. He is someone who represents Terri Schiavo's parents in this matter. These were remarks made shortly after Terri Schiavo's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FATHER FRANK PAVONE, SCHINDLER FAMILY SUPPORTER: Unfortunately, just 10 or so minutes before she died, we were told that we had to leave the room because there would be an assessment of her condition and then a visitation by Michael.

Bobby Schindler, her brother, said, we want to be in the room when she dies. Michael Schiavo said, no, you cannot. And so his heartless cruelty continues until this very last moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Those were the remarks that George Felos felt he needed to address, saying that -- filling out more detail that there was some hospice worker told Michael Schiavo that there was an altercation, a fight, between Bobby Schindler, his brother-in-law, Terri Schiavo's brother, and a police officer, as Bobby Schindler insisted on staying in the room in those minutes leading up to Terri Schiavo's death.

George Felos said that his client made a split-second decision that Bobby Schindler should not be in the room, saying that his wife deserved to die with dignity and that she died a gentle and peaceful death.

We have much more detail, so stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's a story which caught all of our attention, and, of course, it caught the attention of Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court. On and on it goes.

Among the people at the center of this debate was the House majority leader, Tom DeLay, who advocated at length and helped push through legislation in Congress to put this in the federal jurisdiction, to allow Terri to be -- remain on that artificial means, on that feeding tube.

Some reaction from him just a little bit ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: It's a sad day for the Schindler family. It's a sad day for America.

The legal system failed Terri Schiavo. We all failed Terri Schiavo. The one major responsibility of a government is to protect innocent, vulnerable people from being preyed upon or, in this case, their life taken from them. We will not -- we promised the Schindler family that we will not let Terri die in vain. There's a bill that the House passed two weeks ago sitting in the Senate. The Senate could pick that bill up and pass it that deals with this issue in a general basis.

We will look at an arrogant, out-of-control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at Congress and the president. When given the jurisdiction to hear this case anew and look at all the facts and make a determination, they chose not to participate, contrary to what Congress and the president asked them to do. We will look into that.

But now is the time to grieve, to understand the enormous tragedy that has happened to this country. I never thought I would see the day that the United States of America would have a judge stop feeding and giving water to a living American, so that they can take 14 days to die. It's a very sad day, but it's not a day that we will forget. We will work as hard as we can to stop this from happening to other innocent Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Now some thoughts on dying.

It's reasonably safe to assume that, across all faiths, we accept the notion of physical death as part of the natural order, but thoughts of our own mortality and that of our loved ones still make us feel some powerful emotions, of course. As George Felos just said a few moments ago, perhaps this whole thing has more to do with our fear of death than the sanctity of life. Joining me now from San Francisco, the author of the book "Dying Unafraid." She is a reporter and storyteller, Fran Moreland Johns. And she happens to be the mother of my lovely bride Sandy (ph), in full disclosure.

Fran, good to have you with us.

FRAN MORELAND JOHNS, AUTHOR, "DYING UNAFRAID": Thanks. I'm glad to be here.

O'BRIEN: Well, let's talk about that for just a moment, this whole notion that, at the root of this is a normal human fear of death. Do you think there's some validity to that?

JOHNS: I think there's a lot of it. I think that -- and hand in hand with that goes this sort of feeling that, if I say the world out loud, it will make it happen. For some reason, we don't want to talk about it.

And the reason I stay on this bus trying to get people to do advanced directives and, more importantly, to let everybody know where they are, if they do them, and to talk to people is -- because, if you don't talk about it, then terrible things such as we have been witnessing with poor Terri Schiavo can happen.

O'BRIEN: I want to talk about advanced directives in just a moment, but you talk frequently about the D-word and how people over time have perhaps gotten more accustomed to talking with it.

Let's -- listening to George Felos, he had something else to say about this. Let's listen to him for just a moment here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FELOS: I certainly think that Mrs. Schiavo's death, which all of us have experienced one way or another, has led to a family dialogue, a community dialogue and a national dialogue and perhaps a worldwide dialogue about death, dying, the dying process, the rights of the individual, the interests of society, how those are balanced, and how these decisions can be made and implemented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: All right., that whole dialogue that we're talking about, you've been a large part of that in the book you wrote, "Dying Unafraid," and all the speaking you do as a result of that. Do you that's real? Are people really paying more attention to this? And, certainly in the wake of this incident, are they now?

JOHNS: I would like to believe they are.

The issue to me is the personal choice issue. And I need to mention this wonderful organization that I work very hard with. And it's Compassion and Choices. So, you can go to our Web site. You can go to the Compassion and Choices Web site. Or you can go to my publisher and you can ask for, oh, forms of all sorts that you can use as a sort of a jumping-off place to start talking.

And that's all we want. We want people to talk. We want people to have the right to make their own personal choice and then to have that choice protected and honored.

O'BRIEN: And that publisher is Synergistic Press.

But let's leave people with just a little bit of take-away information here. We've been talking so much about living wills. But once that living will is written, there are some important things you should do. And here's some of the advice which you've shared with people over the years. Keep the original in a safe place at home. Give copies to a primary care doctor and treating physicians. Get a copy for your hospital records. Give copies to your agent and alternate. Give copies to your children, parents and loved ones.

I think this is a lot more extensive communication than a lot of people interpreted living wills up to this moment.

JOHNS: Well, yes.

And the living will is only part of the advanced directive. The other key part is the power of attorney, your designation of the person you would want to make choices for you if you're not able. So, it's a two-part thing, the living will and the power of attorney. And even if you write them all down, once you've done that, the really important thing is to talk.

O'BRIEN: Fran Moreland Johns, my mother-in-law and the author of "Dying Unafraid" and a person who deals with the hospice movement and death and dying issues all over the nation, thanks for your time.

JOHNS: Thanks.

LIN: And, on that note, Miles, we're going to bid you a farewell. We're going to pass the baton on to "INSIDE POLITICS" with more on the Terri Schiavo case.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired March 31, 2005 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: As promised, live to Dunedin, Florida. Let's hear from Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS) GEORGE FELOS, MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S ATTORNEY: ... my condolences to the entire Schiavo and Schindler family and all those in the country and around the world who are grieving at Terri's loss. I wanted to relay to you a course of events that I witnessed. I went down, along with my co-counsel Deborah Bushnell, to the hospice of the Florida Sun Coast, the Woodside facility yesterday, approximately 10:30.

And the two of us were there continuously until we left this morning after Terri's death at approximately 11:45 a.m. today. What I didn't mention, which I can mention now, we met Mr. Schiavo at a room that he has been living in or had lived in for the past 14 days at the hospice facility. As I mentioned before, he's been -- except for his limited media appearances, he has been with Terri continuously since the feeding tube was removed two weeks ago. And he's lived at the hospice facility in a separate room just down the hall from Terri.

It was evident upon first seeing Terri yesterday that she was entering into the final stages of her death process. She went through intermittent periods of rapid breathing, which I'm told is called kussmaul breathing. She would go into periods of labored breathing. Her -- progressively, over the period of time, more than 24 hours we were there, you can see evidence of mottling on her extremities, on her hands, on her legs. That means that the heart just could not pump blood to the extremities and the mottling were red spots. Her limbs became progressively colder.

And as time -- as time went on, it was evident that Terri was going through the final stages of her death process. The -- throughout the first day, we were there yesterday. Of course, we were concerned with the filings in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court. And we had to address those.

From Mr. Schiavo's point of view and for all of us there, we realized that these were last-ditch legal maneuvers on the part of Terri's family. But nonetheless, you can never predict what a court may do or may not do. And it was certainly an added stress on Mr. Schiavo. And in a way, cruel.

No person, no family in the United States having to go through the death process for a loved one and to have a loved one on death's door should have the added worry that a panel of judges is going to order an ambulance to come or politicians are going to take last-ditch maneuvers to try to interfere with the death process that your loved one has chosen and is almost -- is almost completed.

We had the opportunity -- well, let me rephrase that word. We viewed some of the media coverage when we were taking breaks over that period of time. And as you know, I haven't made a statement for a number of days. I've gotten calls from the media to respond to various developments in the case. I can just tell you that Mr. Schiavo's overriding concern here was to provide for Terri a peaceful death with dignity.

And I emphasize it because this death was not for the siblings and not for the spouse and not for the parents. This was for Terri. She has a right -- she has a right to die peaceably in a loving setting and with dignity, and that was his overriding concern. I don't want to -- and that's one reason why we haven't made statements and haven't responded to the press the past two or three days, because we felt it was inappropriate in these circumstances, having Terri in her final death process.

We did hear some things on television that were distressing. I just want to -- I just want to mention one of them, in particular, because we did seem to see a parade of politicians and other people come in and out of the grounds in order to make statements or give their opinions.

There was a priest, I believe his name was Father Pavone, who spoke on a number of occasions as the Schindlers' spokesman. It was very disquieting to hear the priest issue venom and make extremely harsh statements about Mr. Schiavo, about what was going on. I know the priest mentioned he was the head of a pro-life organization, and he has a strong feeling, a strong feeling of that. We felt that was highly inappropriate under the circumstances.

I will contrast that to the words spoken by Reverend Jackson and also in my conversations with Reverend Jackson. Although we didn't agree with Reverend Jackson's point-of-view about removal of Terri's artificial life support, it was evident and clear from his statements and his conversations to me that he came in good faith in a spirit of healing to try to bring -- to try to bring this family together.

And with Father Pavone, instead of words of reconciliation, instead of words of healing, instead of words of compassion or understanding, which you might expect from a spiritual person, we had a platform for ideological agenda. We found that very counterproductive and disquieting.

As we progressed into the evening yesterday, I also want to explain that Mr. Schiavo tried to spend as much time with Mrs. Schiavo as was possible. When he was in the room visiting, when we got word from law enforcement that visitors from the Schindler family or Schindler friends wanted to visit, Mr. Schiavo promptly left the room. We all went down the hall. We -- they came in and visited. They visited for as long as they wanted to. And when they were -- when they had left, we came back up the hall to stay with Terri again.

So Mr. Schiavo tried to be as respectful as he could to the wishes of the family. As the evening progressed last night, it became more evident that we were reaching the final hours. There were times where Terri's breathing process was very labored. And at one time, we thought the end might be near. A Hospice worker came and repositioned Terri. It eased her breathing.

Mr. Schiavo, his brother, Brian, myself, and Attorney Bushnell spent the night with Mrs. Schiavo. And let me also -- let me also state, throughout this -- throughout this entire process were literally angels of mercy, of the healthcare providers, the workers of the hospice. It was just unbelievable to see the incredible amount of compassion, warmth and love and caring and skill which they used throughout this entire process to help Mrs. Schiavo have a death with dignity.

At approximately 7:00 this morning, we got word that the Schindler siblings, along with Father Pavone, wanted to visit. We promptly vacated the room. They were in the room from 7:00 to 8:45 in the morning. At approximately 8:45, we were -- a hospice worker -- hospice administrator came down to the room in which we were staying and mentioned that we're entering the final process, you'd better go -- to Michael, you better go and see Terri because now may be the time.

At that time, we asked whether the Schindler siblings and Father Pavone were still there, and we were told this. And I want to be very accurate about this. We were told by the hospice administrator that they requested the visitors, the Schindlers and Father Pavone, to please leave the room because the nurses -- the hospice personnel needed to do an assessment.

We had no knowledge of this. We didn't request an assessment. This is the information we received from the hospice administrator. At that time, the hospice administrator said that Bobby Schindler was resistant to leaving the room and got into an argument or dispute with the law enforcement official and suggested that he wanted to remain in the room with Mr. Schiavo and a police officer.

Mr. Schiavo made the decision that that was not appropriate under the circumstances. The Schindlers had just been there for an hour and 45 minutes, and it was very disconcerting to hear that Bobby Schindler apparently had some dispute with law enforcement. I want to reemphasize, again, Mr. Schiavo's overriding concern was Mrs. Schiavo has a right and had a right to die with dignity. And die in peace. She had a right to have her last and final moments on this earth be experienced by a spirit of love and not of acrimony.

And he just -- Mr. Schiavo was not going to permit a potentially explosive situation, knowing that there was just a dispute with law enforcement, and also the presence of a law enforcement officer at Mrs. Schiavo's deathbed at that time. Again, she deserved better, and that was the decision that Mr. Schiavo made, and I fully support it. I believe it was the appropriate decision.

I want to add, as well, that to our understanding, Mr. and Mrs. Schindler were nowhere near the hospice facility at that period of time. In fact, it's our understanding, from what we heard on news reports, that Mrs. Schindler chose not to visit or see Terri again since Easter Sunday. So at approximately -- now it was quarter of 9:00, we entered Mrs. Schiavo's room.

It was apparent that it was the final moments for Mrs. Schiavo. She died at approximately 9:00 a.m. Her husband was present, by her bed, cradling her. His brother, Brian, was there. I was there, along with attorney Bushnell. And many workers and caregivers from the hospice of the Florida Sun Coast were there, as well.

Mrs. Schiavo died a calm, peaceful, and gentle death. At that time of death, approximately 9:00, the people in the room stayed with her body for a period of time. We asked the Hospice facility -- we had asked the Hospice facility how the Schindlers had wanted to be notified of Mrs. Schiavo's death. It's our understanding that they had called Mrs. Schindler and Mrs. Schindler gave a home number and a cell phone number in which to be notified.

We made absolutely no statements to the press or calls to the press or released any information until the hospice administrator informed us that they had personally not only called the Schindlers and said there's a change in Terri's condition, but waited until the Schindlers came to the hospice and were informed by the hospice personnel that Terri had died.

We -- at that time, again, Mr. Schiavo vacated Terri's room. It's our understanding that the Schindlers spent some time with Terri's body. They were free to spend as much time as they chose with her body. After they left, the hospice workers bathed Terri's body, and Mr. Schiavo and all of us went back in to spend some more time with Terri.

I also want to mention that after that, Mr. Schiavo left, having seen Terri for the last time. The medical examiner had been called to pick up Terri's body. And before Terri's body was removed from the facility, there was a gathering of at least 30, minimum 30 to 40, hospice workers who formed a circle around the body, which was now on the medical examiner's gurney before being removed from hospice.

It was a very emotional scene. You have to remember that many of these hospice workers have cared for Terri for over a five-year period. I can't describe in words their dedication. There were nurses and workers who refused to go home, because at the end of their shift, Terri hadn't passed away yet and wanted to be with her when they -- when she died.

The Hospice workers, as well as law enforcement and the personnel from the Florida -- from the medical examiner's office, stood around Terri. The Hospice chaplain said prayers. It was a very -- it was a very emotional moment for many of us there. Her death process -- her body was treated with the utmost care and the utmost respect, and then she was removed from the hospice by the medical examiner.

That is what I wanted to relay factually. I want to also come back to the -- what we've heard are angry accounts about alleged denial of the family members to be with Terri. I can just say that under the circumstances, Mr. Schiavo tried as best he could, but paramount for him was Terri and her death process. And I want to say just another word about Father Pavone. Had there been words of reconciliation, words of compassion, words of hope, words of love from him, perhaps he could have been instrumental in some sort of healing for this family. It's a tragedy. It's a tragedy that they all were not there and couldn't be there at the time of Terri's passing. I think it's a shame that opportunity was lost, that he chose to act as an ideolog, using the pulpit, rather than use the pulpit for some healing in this case. So that's the statement I have to make. I'll be happy to take any questions.

QUESTION: Now that Terri Schiavo's dead, how do you square the fact that you say she died with dignity when, in effect, she starved to death? What dignity is there in starving someone to death?

FELOS: Well, I'm sure you know that that's an inaccurate question in that patients don't starve to death from removal of artificial provision of hydration and nutrition. Let me finish. The overriding issue in this case was her choice. Whether you might disagree with the evidence or the quantum of proof or the reliability of the witnesses and whatever you -- whatever opinion you may have, the court, through a grueling process, found, by clear and convincing evidence, through the testimony of three witnesses, relaying seven conversations, that Mrs. Schiavo said, no tubes for me. I don't want to remain artificially. I think affording a patient their choice to die in the manner they choose is not -- is certainly a death with dignity and not something that was just described. Yes?

QUESTION: Yes, a lot of people have accused Michael Schiavo of killing his wife, but take us through his emotions in the last final minutes, what he was feeling (INAUDIBLE).

FELOS: Well, I don't want to put any spin on it. And I'm -- in a way, I'm reluctant because these were very personal and private moments. But I will tell you that it was evident to everyone -- everyone around him, the profound emotion and loss of Mr. Schiavo. It was clear to everyone that he loved Terri deeply, and her passing was a tremendous loss for him. And believe me, that was expressed in the emotional terms that you might associate with that.

Yes.

QUESTION: Mr. Felos, with both parties knowing that the end was near, why wasn't something worked out so that there would not be this last-minute kerfuffle, so to speak, between the families and the -- they won't let me in, but we wanted to go in. Why was that not worked out?

FELOS: You know, I don't have an exact answer for you. I mean, there are many reasons. The level of acrimony hurled at Mr. Schiavo by the Schindlers -- I mean, he's been called a murderer, a wife abuser. Those are not -- that is not conduct and behavior that lead to reconciliation. To have your spokesman -- this Father Pavone -- accuse them of intolerable cruelty is not something that leads to reconciliation.

I wish that some healing had occurred. Unfortunately, in this case, it didn't.

QUESTION: When do you expect the results of the autopsy to be made public?

FELOS: It's my understanding that there are two types of results: the macroscopic and the microscopic, and that the macroscopic, which is the results of the findings that you can see in evidence and weigh, can be released very quickly. But the results that involve further testing, microscopic work and more detailed work could take weeks to be released.

Yes.

QUESTION: Do you have any idea, sir, how long it will take before her body can be released so Mr. Schiavo could take her home?

FELOS: My understanding is that that is a relatively quick process, but I don't know the specific amount of time.

Yes.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) -- is there any indication that there is any kind of memorial service (INAUDIBLE)? Any discussions?

FELOS: No, there's been no discussion of that. You have to understand that from Mr. Schiavo's side, he's been living at the hospice for the past two weeks, not only in the midst of his wife's death process, but fending off politicians and the United States Congress and Governor Bush and the Department of Children and Families.

So there has not -- you know, frankly, there were many times through this process where we didn't know if her death process would be completed. So, you know, we really haven't gotten -- or he hasn't gotten that far. I would hope -- I mean, I would hope and pray that there can be some sort of reconciliation for this family. I don't know if that can happen. I hope it can.

QUESTION: You mentioned he was cradling her as she died. Can you go into a little more detail about that. And did he say anything to her?

FELOS: Well, again, out of respect for the privacy of that moment, I'm not going to comment further on that.

QUESTION: How many people were in the room at the time, approximately?

FELOS: There were, I believe, three or four hospice workers, of course, Mr. Schiavo, his brother, myself, Ms. Bushnell and Mrs. Schiavo.

Yes.

QUESTION: So the police were gone?

QUESTION: How about law enforcement? Were there law enforcement in the room?

QUESTION: Can you tell us the -- what we're hearing about the dispute between cremation and burial?

FELOS: Well, to my understanding, there is no dispute. That's a matter that has been resolved by the court. Prior to Mrs. Schiavo's feeding tube, both parties presented to the court what they felt was the appropriate disposition of Mrs. Schiavo's remains, and the court ordered that cremation would be appropriate. And so Mr. Schiavo intends to pursue that. Yes.

QUESTION: Are you familiar with President Bush's remarks he made after Terri's death as (INAUDIBLE)...

FELOS: I didn't hear the president's remarks. My understanding of what was -- what I've heard people relay is that basically, the president said, in these type of matters, when there's a dispute, we should err on the side of life. And if that is paraphrasing what the president said, it is beyond question that not only the courts of Florida, but the courts of the United States of America have given tremendous deference and respect for the right of life and the sanctity of life. I can't imagine -- I don't think there has been any case -- let me give you an example, because we were still filing briefs with the 2nd District Court of Appeal for intervention -- against intervention of Department of Children and Families as of yesterday.

Yesterday morning I filed a brief before going down to the hospice. And there have been 22 -- 22 appeals just in the Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal in this case; numerous applications to the Florida supreme court, the federal courts. The United States Supreme Court has declined to intervene five times. For me, it's impossible to conceive how a fuller and fairer airing of the facts of this case and the law involved could be made.

And the other thing I want to mention, we've heard a lot -- we've heard the phrase a lot, "the sanctity of life, the sanctity of life, respect for life" as the basis for the opponents to carrying out Terri's wishes in this case. And I would just suggest, since there seems to be a national debate and a national reflection on this, that perhaps a lot of the opposition to Mrs. Schiavo's death here had more to do with the fear of death rather than the sanctity of life.

Yes.

QUESTION: Once the body is release...

FELOS: Excuse me?

QUESTION: Once the body is released...

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: Is it going to be cremated immediately, or Mr. Schiavo will allow some kind of service for the family?

FELOS: I don't know. I don't know the answer to that question.

QUESTION: George, was there a life insurance policy for Terri Schiavo?

FELOS: Not to my knowledge. I've said this before. To my understanding, Mr. Schiavo will not inherit a penny through life insurance, through intestacy or through other means as a result of Terri's death.

QUESTION: George, you say to your knowledge.

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: But that leads me to believe that you're not 100 percent sure. Are you saying that there is one or there isn't one?

FELOS: To my knowledge, there isn't. I know of no life insurance policy. My client knows of no life insurance policy. If John Doe in Texas got a policy out on Mrs. Schiavo's life, I don't know about it. But to our knowledge, there simply is no life insurance policy.

Yes.

QUESTION: Do you anticipate, Mr. Felos, any point that Michael Schiavo will be going to talk to us?

FELOS: I don't know. It's simply at this point, he's in grief. He has gone through an excruciating process involving the death of the wife he loves very much, on top of having that spotlighted around the world. I don't know what Mr. Schiavo's plans will be about speaking to any members of the media in the short term or the long term. I just know for him, as for, I'm sure, every other participant in this case, they need time to heal.

Yes.

QUESTION: It sounds like -- getting back to the permission to be in there, it sounds like Michael Schiavo was feeling angry, maybe a little bitter about some of the comments that were made on the Schindler side. But there are definitely people who are saying, why couldn't he in the final hour, turn the other way and let a brother or sister be there? Apparently there was an attorney in the room, yet her own brother and sister were not allowed to be there with her. Was there ever any question of that? And why didn't that happen?

FELOS: Now, first lest me clarify, I did not see any anger or bitterness -- those are your words; I didn't describe them -- on the part of Mr. Schiavo. This was a split-second decision that had to be made by Mr. Schiavo, having heard from the hospice nurses, you better come right now. And, oh, by the way, your brother-in-law just got into a dispute with the police outside of her room. And do you want him to be there with a police officer?

And he made a split-second decision then to say no. You have to understand, Mr. Schiavo probably hasn't slept for days himself, and I think it was -- I don't think it was a decision made by him out of spite, out of animus, but out of regard for Terri. He -- I think he appropriately decided that she had a right to spend her final moments on earth without a policeman standing next to her and the possibility of an altercation in her room.

QUESTION: So there were no police in the room when (OFF-MIKE)

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... maybe the whole family and Michael Schiavo could have all been there at the same time?

FELOS: Well, I'm saying, No. 1, the parents were not there -- were not there at the time, and I'm saying, I don't know, I don't know what would have happened. The only question, the only point that I made is that certainly the very harsh and hateful words that we heard from many people over the television, and especially from Father Pavone certainly was not constructive in leading to any sort of reconciliation, which perhaps may have made that possible.

(CROSSTALK)

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: So, there were no (OFF-MIKE) within that room (OFF- MIKE) what the colors, the lighting was (OFF-MIKE) Could you hear the protesters outside? (OFF-MIKE)

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) the stuffed animals.

FELOS: Yes.

Terri did have at the time of her death the stuffed tabby kitty under one arm. She had other stuffed animals around her. Some beautiful soul sent -- just sent us for Michael a gorgeous bouquet of flowers with lilies and white roses and red roses, just a gorgeous display of flowers yesterday that we brought to the hospice with us.

Whoever you are, we thank you. Those were by Terri's bedside at the time of her death. There were other flowers in her room. Music was playing very soft, soothing music for a good part of the day. It was not playing at the -- it was not playing at the time of her death. It was -- her death occurred still in the earlier morning hours. The hospice facility itself was relatively quiet. We did not hear any protesters outside. It was a very peaceful and calm setting.

QUESTION: Have you been able to hear protesters often over the last couple of days at other points (OFF-MIKE) from within her room?

FELOS: No, no.

QUESTION: Sir, you're...

FELOS: Yes. QUESTION: You are an advocate for Michael. But, certainly, you can understand that the family also (OFF-MIKE)

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) Can you talk a little bit about the (OFF- MIKE) point of view for what they went through as well. You've talked very sympathetically about Michael.

FELOS: Well, I started my comments by saying that my heart goes out to the Schiavo family and to the Schindler family. Losing your daughter, losing your sibling, losing your wife under any circumstances is just a heart-wrenching, a heart-wrenching and difficult, a difficult thing.

And I'm sure it has been very difficult for the Schindlers and difficult for all those concerned. As I said before, my condolences go out to them, and I'm sure the -- I'm sure across the country and across the world that people will be praying, I hope praying for all the participants in this case.

QUESTION: So, sir, there were no policeman in the room when she passed?

FELOS: No.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) ordered them out?

FELOS: Well, no. No, the police were never in the room. The police were stationed outside of Mrs. Schiavo's room.

The only time that I can tell you that we saw the police inside the room in that, oh, 26-, 27-hour period I believe was last night when they had what's called a lockdown. They had a breach of their perimeter, and when they have a breach of the perimeter, an officer comes inside, closes the door and stands against the door. To my knowledge, that was the only time that an officer was actually inside the room.

QUESTION: Where was this alleged dispute between Bobby Schindler and the police?

FELOS: Well, I've answered that about two or three times.

Yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) have put cameras a that hospice and said, Michael and Jodi, you have your kids. Please give us back our child. At the end, was there ever any consideration on Michael Schiavo's part to maybe do that?

FELOS: No, because this case -- as this was Terri's death, a death that she deserved to have with dignity, this was also about her wishes. And that has been the guiding principle in this case from day one, that she had a right to express her medical treatment choice. She expressed her wishes, and she had a right to have that decision carried out. And, as the courts have said over and over again, the case was not about her parents, was not about her husband, but was -- it was about Terri. And for that reason, for that reason, no, Mr. Schiavo did not consider that?

(CROSSTALK)

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: Sir, (OFF-MIKE) what will be Terri Schiavo's legacy?

FELOS: I don't know.

It's -- being so close to this, and having really no wider perspective, it's hard to say. I certainly think that Mrs. Schiavo's death, which all of us have experienced one way or another, has led to a family dialogue, a community dialogue and a national dialogue and perhaps a worldwide dialogue about death, dying, the dying process, the rights of the individual, the interests of society, how those are balanced, and how these decisions can be made and implemented.

I said -- I believe I said at a prior press conference that death is one of the last taboo subjects in our society. We don't like to think about it, contemplate it, and certainly not plan for our own death. And I think one of her legacies may be that finally we have matured as a society and come to grips with this question and can look it straight on and start to deal with it in a responsible manner.

QUESTION: Follow-up question. Is it your hope that this situation may prevent other families from going through it? And, out of curiosity, (OFF-MIKE) can you tell us, does Michael have (OFF-MIKE)

FELOS: Yes, Michael has a living will. I have a living will I've had for years.

The law gives you the right to make your own medical treatment choices. That's one of the most personal and private decisions that you can make in your lifetime. At what point do you say medical treatment is enough and I don't want I don't want any more? And this case demonstrates more than anything could demonstrate that, if you don't take personal responsibility and make your wishes known and do that in a formal sense, then your wishes may not be carried out, not only to your own personal harm, but to the destruction of your family and loved ones.

So, this is a clarion call to everyone to make their wishes known in an appropriate way.

Yes.

QUESTION: Can you tell us what time the body was removed and who was with her at the time? Did Michael go with her (OFF-MIKE)

FELOS: The -- I would say probably -- and, you know, you have to remember, I haven't slept in about -- I didn't sleep at all last night, and I kind of feel more like a hospice worker than I do an attorney at the moment, but I would say it was at least a couple hours after Mrs. Schiavo's death that family members had an opportunity to be with the body.

Her body was washed and prepared. Hospice held their ceremony before removal, so I would say we're looking at perhaps 11:00 or 11:30 that it was removed by the medical examiner's office.

Yes.

QUESTION: Is the plan still that her body or her ashes will be buried in the Philadelphia suburbs?

FELOS: That's my understanding.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: And do you know if the cremation will occur here before?

FELOS: Yes. That's my information.

Yes.

QUESTION: Mr. Felos, as you know, some people regard this not as Terri's wishes, but (OFF-MIKE) act of murder. I'm wondering if you can tell us, is Mr. Schiavo concerned that someone may now come after him or his girlfriend or his children or even his (OFF-MIKE)

FELOS: I believe it's obviously all our hopes that, with Mrs. Schiavo's passing, that the best legacy for Mrs. Schiavo is to have everyone peaceably move on with their lives.

I can tell you that Mr. Schiavo acted in utmost good faith and concern for his wife, as found by the courts over and over again. And I'll simply leave it at that. No one expects that to occur. And, obviously, we all hope that it doesn't.

QUESTION: Sir, you mentioned that Michael Schiavo has a living will. Are you ready to say what his wishes are as expressed in that living will?

FELOS: No, I can't.

QUESTION: George, can you tell me, has your client, Michael Schiavo, or yourself been approached about movie deals, book deals? If it hasn't happened now, are either one of you open to doing that and being compensated financially for what's happened here?

FELOS: I'll answer it in this way.

As early as the first trial, which was in January of 2000, we received on behalf -- we received on behalf of Mr. Schiavo some inquiries. Over the years, some of those type of inquiries have filtered through. And our response has always been that we're not interested in discussing this. It's an inappropriate subject, and we haven't discussed it or entertained any inquiries or offers. As to what may happen in the future, I don't know.

QUESTION: Are you saying that the Schindlers actually wanted to have some kind of movie made, that they were actually interested (OFF- MIKE)

FELOS: I'm not saying that at all. The question was regarding Mr. Schiavo.

Yes.

QUESTION: Can you tell us about Mrs. Schiavo's living conditions at the hospice and where they were and what they were like?

FELOS: Well, it was -- in fairness to hospice, it was a very nice room, obviously small, a tiny bathroom, just one room that had a bed in it and a couch and a chair, but, of course, Michael has been living there for a good period of time with one or more of his brothers for the last day or so with myself and Ms. Bushnell.

And so it sort of looked like after a while everyone was camping, as you might expect. We were just -- Mr. Schiavo was just very grateful to the hospice facility to give him the opportunity to be so close by Terri during this two-week process.

QUESTION: What was the proximity to Terri's room?

FELOS: It was down the hall.

QUESTION: Can you tell us where Michael is today and what plans (OFF-MIKE)

FELOS: No, I have -- I believe that he's left the hospice facility, and I have no comment on his -- I have no comment on his current location or immediate plans.

QUESTION: George, let me ask you, if I could, please.

FELOS: Yes.

QUESTION: You're saying again, if the priest -- I forgot this man's name -- hadn't used words that, as you said, were so venomous, that maybe Michael's heart may have been moved a bit to do something a little different, maybe a little compensation, a little moving here and there between both parties.

But the converse of that, is it -- was it Michael that was spiteful or held a grudge and said, you know what? You've been awfully nasty to me. Why should I do anything for you?

FELOS: I don't think the latter. I don't think the latter is the case.

See, the thing -- the thing about spirit and mercy is that they transcend the mind. That's the nature of spirit. It transcends bitterness. It transcends enmity. And all I'm saying is that it was unfortunate in this situation, through the priest that they chose to be with them, the possibility of that occurring was minimized.

I'll just take one more question.

Yes.

QUESTION: Were the Schindlers allowed to take any kind of memento, like a lock of hair or anything from Terri?

FELOS: Yes.

We were -- Mr. Schiavo was asked after Terri died and before the Schindlers went in to be with Terri whether the Schindlers could remove items from the room and take things from the room. And he said, yes, they could. They could take what they wanted. And I don't know if they availed themselves of that or took any items, but he had no objection to that and honored that request.

OK. Thank you.

LIN: All right. You've just heard a pretty lengthy news conference by George Felos, who represents Michael Schiavo, Terri Schiavo's husband.

And we learned in greater detail from his side of the story exactly what happened in the moments leading up to Terri Schiavo's death. You heard a name, Father Frank Pavone, and some controversial statements that George Felos and Michael Schiavo felt that they needed to address, remarks that George Felos call venomous.

This is what Father Pavone had to say earlier. He is someone who represents Terri Schiavo's parents in this matter. These were remarks made shortly after Terri Schiavo's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FATHER FRANK PAVONE, SCHINDLER FAMILY SUPPORTER: Unfortunately, just 10 or so minutes before she died, we were told that we had to leave the room because there would be an assessment of her condition and then a visitation by Michael.

Bobby Schindler, her brother, said, we want to be in the room when she dies. Michael Schiavo said, no, you cannot. And so his heartless cruelty continues until this very last moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Those were the remarks that George Felos felt he needed to address, saying that -- filling out more detail that there was some hospice worker told Michael Schiavo that there was an altercation, a fight, between Bobby Schindler, his brother-in-law, Terri Schiavo's brother, and a police officer, as Bobby Schindler insisted on staying in the room in those minutes leading up to Terri Schiavo's death.

George Felos said that his client made a split-second decision that Bobby Schindler should not be in the room, saying that his wife deserved to die with dignity and that she died a gentle and peaceful death.

We have much more detail, so stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's a story which caught all of our attention, and, of course, it caught the attention of Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court. On and on it goes.

Among the people at the center of this debate was the House majority leader, Tom DeLay, who advocated at length and helped push through legislation in Congress to put this in the federal jurisdiction, to allow Terri to be -- remain on that artificial means, on that feeding tube.

Some reaction from him just a little bit ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: It's a sad day for the Schindler family. It's a sad day for America.

The legal system failed Terri Schiavo. We all failed Terri Schiavo. The one major responsibility of a government is to protect innocent, vulnerable people from being preyed upon or, in this case, their life taken from them. We will not -- we promised the Schindler family that we will not let Terri die in vain. There's a bill that the House passed two weeks ago sitting in the Senate. The Senate could pick that bill up and pass it that deals with this issue in a general basis.

We will look at an arrogant, out-of-control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at Congress and the president. When given the jurisdiction to hear this case anew and look at all the facts and make a determination, they chose not to participate, contrary to what Congress and the president asked them to do. We will look into that.

But now is the time to grieve, to understand the enormous tragedy that has happened to this country. I never thought I would see the day that the United States of America would have a judge stop feeding and giving water to a living American, so that they can take 14 days to die. It's a very sad day, but it's not a day that we will forget. We will work as hard as we can to stop this from happening to other innocent Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Now some thoughts on dying.

It's reasonably safe to assume that, across all faiths, we accept the notion of physical death as part of the natural order, but thoughts of our own mortality and that of our loved ones still make us feel some powerful emotions, of course. As George Felos just said a few moments ago, perhaps this whole thing has more to do with our fear of death than the sanctity of life. Joining me now from San Francisco, the author of the book "Dying Unafraid." She is a reporter and storyteller, Fran Moreland Johns. And she happens to be the mother of my lovely bride Sandy (ph), in full disclosure.

Fran, good to have you with us.

FRAN MORELAND JOHNS, AUTHOR, "DYING UNAFRAID": Thanks. I'm glad to be here.

O'BRIEN: Well, let's talk about that for just a moment, this whole notion that, at the root of this is a normal human fear of death. Do you think there's some validity to that?

JOHNS: I think there's a lot of it. I think that -- and hand in hand with that goes this sort of feeling that, if I say the world out loud, it will make it happen. For some reason, we don't want to talk about it.

And the reason I stay on this bus trying to get people to do advanced directives and, more importantly, to let everybody know where they are, if they do them, and to talk to people is -- because, if you don't talk about it, then terrible things such as we have been witnessing with poor Terri Schiavo can happen.

O'BRIEN: I want to talk about advanced directives in just a moment, but you talk frequently about the D-word and how people over time have perhaps gotten more accustomed to talking with it.

Let's -- listening to George Felos, he had something else to say about this. Let's listen to him for just a moment here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FELOS: I certainly think that Mrs. Schiavo's death, which all of us have experienced one way or another, has led to a family dialogue, a community dialogue and a national dialogue and perhaps a worldwide dialogue about death, dying, the dying process, the rights of the individual, the interests of society, how those are balanced, and how these decisions can be made and implemented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: All right., that whole dialogue that we're talking about, you've been a large part of that in the book you wrote, "Dying Unafraid," and all the speaking you do as a result of that. Do you that's real? Are people really paying more attention to this? And, certainly in the wake of this incident, are they now?

JOHNS: I would like to believe they are.

The issue to me is the personal choice issue. And I need to mention this wonderful organization that I work very hard with. And it's Compassion and Choices. So, you can go to our Web site. You can go to the Compassion and Choices Web site. Or you can go to my publisher and you can ask for, oh, forms of all sorts that you can use as a sort of a jumping-off place to start talking.

And that's all we want. We want people to talk. We want people to have the right to make their own personal choice and then to have that choice protected and honored.

O'BRIEN: And that publisher is Synergistic Press.

But let's leave people with just a little bit of take-away information here. We've been talking so much about living wills. But once that living will is written, there are some important things you should do. And here's some of the advice which you've shared with people over the years. Keep the original in a safe place at home. Give copies to a primary care doctor and treating physicians. Get a copy for your hospital records. Give copies to your agent and alternate. Give copies to your children, parents and loved ones.

I think this is a lot more extensive communication than a lot of people interpreted living wills up to this moment.

JOHNS: Well, yes.

And the living will is only part of the advanced directive. The other key part is the power of attorney, your designation of the person you would want to make choices for you if you're not able. So, it's a two-part thing, the living will and the power of attorney. And even if you write them all down, once you've done that, the really important thing is to talk.

O'BRIEN: Fran Moreland Johns, my mother-in-law and the author of "Dying Unafraid" and a person who deals with the hospice movement and death and dying issues all over the nation, thanks for your time.

JOHNS: Thanks.

LIN: And, on that note, Miles, we're going to bid you a farewell. We're going to pass the baton on to "INSIDE POLITICS" with more on the Terri Schiavo case.

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