'No sense of humanity'

If anybody outside the Pinellas Park hospice seemed less like a "protester" than all the others, it had to be Bob Schindler, Terri Schiavo's father.

Consumed with his cause and exhausted by the fight, Mr. Schindler nonetheless was a picture of gentle civility. Even when given the opportunity to lash out at Michael Schiavo, the man who has so relentlessly sought his daughter's death, Mr. Schindler said simply: "Her mother and I know what we know about Terri's condition. He'll have to account for the false things he's said."

Throughout the weekend drama, Mr. Schindler made it a point to move repeatedly and quietly through the small crowd of demonstrators, shaking hands and earnestly thanking people for their support.

When asked by WORLD what the highs and lows of his roller-coaster week had been, he noted on the one hand his appreciation of the public support provided by Pope John Paul, but his deep disappointment-"No," he said, "call that disgust"-for the U.S. judiciary system.

"There is no sense of humanity in the judges I have seen."

Terri's sister Suzanne and brother Robert were not always so restrained. Even while they carry their parents' good manners, dark suggestions about Michael Schiavo's early years with their sister spill frequently from their comments. Yet none of those has resulted in any court findings to that end, a fact not lost on a skeptical and sometimes cynical media force.

On the other hand, the whole Schindler family expresses frustration that the investigative media, usually eager to root through ugly issues, have shown so little fascination in the case of their sister and her husband.