Hoops

NH - Schapelle Corby verdict

Correction, September 11 terrorist attacks, not bombings.

Actually, thinking about it I lied in saying I have never been to any Asian countries. I had a stop over in Singapore and Bangkok between Australia and London and then Rome and Australia. I didn't leave the airports of these countries however, so I guess I would have been safe in that I had no contact with my lugguge in these countries.

This particular trip was made leaving Australia 2 weeks after the September 11 bombings. This was a time when millions of travellers were cancelling trips for fear of terrorist attacks. I had family and friends urging me not to go and worse still take my daughter with me. In spite of this, I had no fear whatsover travelling at that time. I do however have a great fear of going to Bali and risking baggage tampering. I have no hard evidence of this occuring over the years but my instinct has always been that it is a real risk. The risks may be minimal but there are many Australians in Indonesian prisons charged with drug smuggling. Its just that it hasn't been as well publicised as the Corby case.

Isaac, I have never been to any Asian countries and would never go to Indonesia purely for fear of having my bags tampered with. I agree that for the people living in the slum areas and unable to make a good life for themselves, then the risks are less of an issue. However, Corby didn't live in the slums. Her lifestyle here in Australia was a much more comfortable and civilised one. For that reason, the risks to her would have been seen as much greater.

Justice, "If you are going to hand the blame on, you must have someone to hand it to." This is the most pathetic statement I have ever heard. Only Corby knows for sure if she is guilty or innocent and if she is indeed innocent it does not mean she knows who did it. You are saying that if she didn't do it, she has to know who did.

Also, who is to say she didn't "freak out" when she saw what was in her bag? Even if she knew it was there, the realisation of being caught and possible death penalty is enough to make anyone "freak out".

"Also Schapelle has been over to bali several times in her life time and would know locals.... selling drugs is a big business for the Balinese people." This is just as much circumstantial evidence against her case as all the evidence for her case that was dismissed. If a decision was made based on the evidence presented, then the fact that she had been to Bali several times could not be used against her. She didn't get caught with drugs on previous visits, so what makes this visit one that was deliberately intended for smuggling drugs?

Sorry Justice, your arguments do not make sense. Does anyone know what proof the judge took into consideration when handing down a guilty verdict? He says the decision was made on what was presented. What was presented that proved guilt?

Isaac, I am putting two and two together here in making the statement that I did. With such harsh penalties, why would there still be so much drug trafficking occuring in Indonesia? If the death penalty is not a deterrent, what is? Who in their right mind would take in Marijuana which has little street value and risk their life doing so? Who in their right mind would put it in an unlocked bag.

Once again I'm not saying she is not guilt, what I'm saying is that I felt little evidence came out to support her guilt. Also I heard her boogie bag was weighed in Brisbane when she checked it in. If she had no contact with this bag until she arrived in Indonesia, wouldn't there have been a weight discrepancy?

Stephon, drug related problems in Indonesia are no more under control with the harsh penalties in place than if they didn't have harsh penalties. The reason being is the people trafficking drugs are not the ones caught with them. In many cases it is innocent travellers that end up with the drugs in their bags without their knowledge. There is no proof that this was the case in Corby's case but I don't believe that the verdict handed down reflected a "guilty beyond all reasonable doubt" verdict. Just the fact that drug trafficking is just as rife now in Indonesia as it has ever been, suggests that their system is not working. I don't doubt for a minute that innocent people have lost their lives because of this system. One consolation for Corby is that she didn't get the death penalty. You know what they say about where there's life there's hope.