I like that if I get an island, and the coconuts and I form a court of law; everyone will be behind our us. We give 20 years to people with yellow shirts or cell phone ring tones. We don’t have any jail cells… so we just eat all the prisoners

Some people seem to instantly believe that anyone accused of anything is guilty.
I hope you guys don’t end up in an American jury.

Remember way back when that American kid in Singapore got caned for tagging graffitti? I see no difference here. You should read up on the laws of a foreign country before visiting especially if you plan on smuggling weed. Maybe this will set an example.

are u saying that an island like indonesia with a population of 200 million? is just an island with no set judicial system in place? i find it hard to believe.

Being someone who has never been a drug trafficer, how much bulk is 9lbs of pot?

I saw it on our news the other night.. it was about a flatish pillow size..

It has a judicial system and it works just fine. The problem is there is a level of politics being played out here as well...

That and the fact that the defense had nothing solid in the way of exculpatory evidence.

yeah i knew that charlatan, just making a point :D. the fact remains that the defence could not disprove the claims that they were not hers, whereas the prosecution had 9 pounds of drugs in her bag. the problem for her being that its the presumption of guilt that is law, and not the other way round...so shes in a predicament.

I was talking to my sister about this today and she told me about the differences between Australia's and Indonesia's judicial system. I don't know much about this so I might be wrong in relating what she said. Indonesia's system is inquisitory, which means the judge can ask questions about her history. There are rumors that she has never touched any drugs, rumors that she "experimented" in her teenage years, rumors that her father was a junkie and rumors that her brother is a stoner and hid them in her bag so she wouldn't get caught. Apparently the prosecution can ask her all sorts of things, so if she was a stoner or even smoked pot once at a party when she was sixteen (provided she tells the truth) they can use that as evidence against her character. Australia is different in that past history like that is ignored as it has no relevence to the case at hand. Even if she was a total junkie five years ago it doesn't mean the bag was hers. If she was framed on this occasion then she was framed, even if she normally smokes pot at home.

I might have some of this wrong so if anyone knows better, please say so.

Why in the hell would anyone want to save this chick..? Cause she's "hot"..? I've seen people get alot worse, for alot less...She may as well get ready...

Execution by any means, especially in terms of certain guilt, is a good thing...

I always say "We live by our choices". 9 lbs seems like alot to just slip into someones bag. I'm all for stiffer punishments. If our courts would give harsh punish people the first time around, maybe we wouldn't have so many problems? Just a thought.

execution for a soft recreational drug? it wasnt that long ago, alcohol was illegal too.

have u considered joining forces with the taliban?

Thats getting close to the line man, can we keep it to discussion over the subject rather than personal attacks please?

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, just because it might not be in line with yours, doesn't make it incorrect. Thanks.

While I don't think execution really fits the crime, and I would argue against it were that the case where I live, I don't live in Bali, and I don't know what its like there. From what I've read, they have a large drug problem, and right on the entrance visa it does say "Death to Drug Traffickers!" so I can't really say there wasn't sufficient warning. It's the law, when you travel to foreign countries, you have to follow the laws, no matter what the people in your home country think is right or wrong.

As for her not putting them them in her bag, c'mon people. It was 9 lbs of drugs, a bag of extremely high grade marijuana aproximately the size of a pillow! If someone doesn't notice that, I dunno what to say. Realisticly she should have immediately noticed her bag had something else in it, it was a soft sided board bag. If she honestly didn't know the drugs were there, don't you think she would have opened it right there and reported it to the police?

I'm glad she didn't get executed, but as for the jail time, I'm not sorry she got what she did. It seems to me that she would have to be really, really naive to have actually not known about it.

I don't mean death for drugs, just a stiffer punishment for crimes. Here, its a slap on the wrist and send them back to sell,buy, do drugs. And alot of it is to kids. People beat their kids and have them back in 3 months. Is this right? I think people need to be held accountable for their actions. Whether it be the first offence or the 50th offence. Like I said, 9 lbs is alot to not notice being slipped in your bag. Thats like the size of a newborn baby.

sorry my apologies..i retract my last line...am i supposed to edit it now?

It was a law in place, he broke the law, and he shouldn't get away with it, I just with laws in the US had as bad as consquences as in other countries....

1. 9lbs of marijuana, even if tightly packed, would be quite a bulk. Likely 24" or 36" long x 12" wide x 6" deep, somewhere near there. Even in a suitcase, that's still a quite large and cumbersome thing. I don't buy that she didn't know it was there.

2. No one can mistake an extra 9lbs of weight, especially if it was a light pack to begin with. I find it VERY hard to believe she could say she "didn't notice" 9 extra pounds.

3. Marijuana has a VERY strong odor. It would have to be packed incredibly well not to be smelled from the outside of a suitcase or backpack, whatever.

4. Hiding it in plain view is the perfect scenario for moving something like that. People do it all the time. As said before, if you leave it out for anyone to discover, then you can claim you had no idea how it got there. If a person is randomly searched, the chance of hiding a bag like that is almost totally nill. Leaving it on top allows you to act all surprised as to how it got there.

I believe she did it. And no, my decision would not be different if it were my brother, etc.

Also: in many places, as it is here in my home state in the US, you get 15 years in prison for selling any quantity within 200 ft of a school or housing project- let alone trafficking 9 pounds across international borders. So how is 20 years so much more barbaric, other than maybe the conditions of the jail, which are a separate matter?

Side note: I'm 100% for the legalization of marijuana, so don't snap at me. I'm dealing in reality.

Since this case came to light I have done some reading and while I do believe she should be punished the death penalty (now commuted to 20 years) is excessive for what she did and especially after reading this...

...about the Bali bombings that killed (I believe) 88 Aussies.
______________________________________________________________________
An Indonesian court today sentenced two men each to 42 months jail for providing refuge to two Malaysian terror suspects wanted for deadly bombing attacks.
______________________________________________________________________


So, aiding a terror suspect is better than hauling some smoke...go figure.

After this, I would sign a petition to lower her sentence to at least the level of these 2 terror scumbags.

Oh, I am sorry, I was almost certain that was a joke like suggesting they use the honor system.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

And never challenge your own comfort zone? Screw that....life is all about being challenged.

As was stated earlier:

The fact that a convicted conspirator in the deaths of several hundered people (Bashir) only received 30 months in jail as opposed to Schappele's 20 years is the real issue here, if she did do it...If ever there were an injustice, that is.

are people being prevented from immigrating into another country in indonesia? i dont know anything about it, but these laws are crazy. what if the leader did something unlawful, will he be sentenced to death?

Oh come on, first of all the death penalty is not just for any crime, just for one as serious as drug running. Secondly, that is just the maximum. If you had looked above you would see that she only got a jail sentence.

It's all good... I was really just struggling with how you could possibly protect yourself when you travel... probably a good thing that I keep out of politics huh! ;)