Execution, Indonesian Style: Tied to a Wooden Cross and Shot
Posted on Wed Jan 23, 2013 at 08:46:00 AM EST
Tags: Bali, death penalty (all tags)
This is how Indonesia carries out its death penalty:
The death penalty is carried out in Indonesia by firing squad, normally in the middle of the night in a remote place, illuminated by flood lights. The public are not allowed to witness executions.
Members of the police force’s elite Brimob paramilitary brigade make up firing squads. They consist of 12 armed soldiers however only three of them actually have live rounds in their weapons – the rest have blanks. Nobody knows who has the live rounds and who has the blanks. This is to ease the conscience of the firing squad and so that no-one knows who fired the killer shot.
The condemned person is tied to a wooden cross or post and the spot of their heart is illuminated on a vest they wear to guide the firing squad. The prisoner can elect to wear a hood or not and can have a religious person present until the last moments.
113 people were sentenced to death in Indonesia in 2012. (This study says 114 are on death row.)At least 8 will be executed in 2013. 40 of those on death row are foreigners. 5 foreigners have been executed for drugs.). Some inmates have taken 7 minutes to die after being shot. They lay there screaming in pain, according to witnesses. [More..]
Indonesia's highest court has rejected arguments this amounts to torture. The New York Times had this report a few years ago.
Sometimes appeals make the sentence worse. This 23 year old Briton was sentenced to life in Bali for smuggling meth. He appealed, and in September, was re-sentenced to death.
Indonesia does not deserve your tourist dollars. Many Indonesians support their barbaric laws. Here's how many reacted to Schapelle Corby's arrest:
The case of Lindsay Sandiford is raising attention to Indonesia's unacceptable policy. But the media is not fully reporting the judges' reasoning. It wasn't just that they viewed her as a threat to Bali's image.
The panel of judges viewed the defendant as being uncooperative during the trial.
“She repeatedly refused to acknowledge that the 4.7 kilograms of cocaine was hers, she didn’t provide the court with straight answers and she didn’t show any remorse for her wrongdoings.”
Not only did she cooperate, but she set up four people, who have consistently maintained their innocence. The police were unable to find any evidence corroborating her story, and that's why three got "light" sentences for possessing the minor quantities of drugs found on them when arrested. (The last one, Julian Ponder, partner of Rachel Dougall, is set to be sentenced today. Prosecutors are recommending 7 years, even though Sandiford claimed he was the leader of the ring.)
The Judges may well have believed she falsely set up the others. If Ponder gets a lesser penalty than she does, then I think it's obvious the court believed she lied to save her own skin.
Sandiford agreed to cooperate with the police in carrying out a controlled delivery to net the other suspects. Julian Anthony Ponder and his associate Paul Beales were arrested in Candidasa, Karangasem, on May 25, when Ponder allegedly received 4.7 kg of cocaine from Sandiford. The police later arrested Ponder’s partner, Rachel Lisa Dougall, and Indian national Nanda Gopal.
In previous trial sessions, Sandiford claimed that she was the courier for a drug-smuggling operation masterminded by Rachel Lisa Dougall, the women dubbed the Bali Drug Queen by the British media due to her lavish lifestyle. Sandiford disclosed that she met Dougall and Beales in Bangkok before she took the flight to Denpasar. She said that Beales placed the drugs in the lining of her suitcase and that Dougall was the owner of the drugs. Both denied the accusation.
In separate trials, prosecutors had failed to produce concrete evidence that connected Dougall, Ponder, Beales and Nanda Gopal with the smuggling attempt carried out by Sandiford.
Lindsay Sandiford is not the ideal poster image for Indonesia's draconian drug laws in my view, but if she draws global attention to the country's inhumane policies, she'll do.
It's not just those facing death. Many more are serving decades-long prison sentences. And consider the latest on Schapelle Corby. Finally eligible for parole due to clemency cuts after serving 8 years of her 20 year sentence for 4 kilos of pot she has steadfastly maintained were planted in her luggage, Indonesia changed the law two months ago and she's now ineligible:
Indonesian Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin told The Jakarta Post the 2012 Government Regulation on the Procedures of Rights of Convicts, signed by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono two months ago, had added certain new conditions for prisoners serving time on drug, corruption or terrorism convictions to be eligible for parole.
One of the new demands is for prisoners to become "justice collaborators" who can help investigators uncover other individuals associated with their crime.
Since Corby has no one to set up, and still maintains her innocence, she can't be paroled.
Not only that, Indonesia passed a new immigration law that may prevent her from either leaving Indonesia or remaining at liberty upon release:
"In the new immigration law a foreign citizen who is undergoing legal process or serving sentences is not able to be given a visa," Mr Sutarjo said.
"If a foreign citizen (does not have a) stay permit, then he or she has to go to (an) immigration detention centre.
Schapelle flew out of Sydney. An ongoing investigation into corruption and drugs among Sydney customs officials and baggage handlers continues, with arrests now up to 10, as of this week.
Boycott Bali.
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