luvdance
05-29-2005, 10:33 PM
CONVICTED drug smuggler Schapelle Corby has congratulated her legal team despite being sentenced to 20 years' jail in Indonesia, her Australian lawyer said today.
Robin Tampoe said the 27-year-old was positive about the result considering she could have been sentenced to life.
"She said to us the other day 'Well done guys, this is a great result. I know what it's like, I know what the system is, I speak to people in jail'," Mr Tampoe said on Macquarie radio today.
"And in fact she sent me a letter asking me to be strong despite the fact she got 20 years.
"She's an amazing girl."
As her legal team prepares for the next stage in the fight to free Corby, the 27-year-old is adjusting to life in prison.
Pictured here in prison clothes, Corby attended church inside Kerobokan jail and exercised in its yard on the first weekend of her 20-year sentence for drug trafficking.
In the background is the tower cell where Bali bombers Amrozi and Imam Samudra are held.
Corby spent yesterday attending Catholic mass. Sitting through a sermon on the need to avoid temptation and about food for the soul, she was said to have been calm.
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One observer said Corby, dressed in prison uniform, appeared at ease and was not crying or emotional but had prayed intently throughout the 90-minute service as she came term with the long sentence handed down on Friday.
At her own request she has had no family visits since the verdict, but met with her lawyers and financial backer Ron Bakir on Saturday morning. She told her family that she wanted to be alone on the weekend.
Meanwhile, prosecutors in the Corby case will appeal for a heavier sentence, arguing that jail terms for drug smugglers should reflect the seriousness with which Indonesia regards drug crime.
Lead prosecutor Ida Bagus Wiswantanu said yesterday he had finished the draft of his leniency appeal for the Denpasar High Court, which ran to about five pages.
Mr Wiswantanu said the prosecution's belief, that Corby's crime was deserving of a life sentence, still stood and this would be articulated in the appeal.
He said the appeal would argue that drug sentences for those caught should act as a deterrent to others thinking about importing drugs and that Indonesia's tough anti-drugs laws existed for a reason.
"Our arguments include that drugs damage the mentality of humans and threaten national defences," he said.
"We are a developing country and if drug crimes are not prevented by the heaviest sentences, it would hamper the development of this country.
"Also we have to protect the Indonesian nation based on the Constitution.
"Another reason is that drug sentences should have a deterrent effect."
Mr Wiswantanu said the prosecution would also be pointing out that in a recent case, the same Denpasar District Court sentenced two men, a Nigerian and Botswanian, to life in jail for bringing 2.034kg of heroin from Jakarta to Bali.
In that case the prosecution had demanded the death penalty and the judges, including Judge Linton Sirait, from the Corby case, had sentenced both to life instead - the main reason being that they were convicted of supplying and not importing drugs. Corby's case involved importing.
The prosecution would also cite a case from last year where a man from Sierra Leone was sentenced to life in jail and when he appealed to the High Court the sentence was increased to death.
This is one risk for Corby's legal team, where sentences can be - and are - increased on appeal.
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so, do you think she did it? im having mixed emotions...
Robin Tampoe said the 27-year-old was positive about the result considering she could have been sentenced to life.
"She said to us the other day 'Well done guys, this is a great result. I know what it's like, I know what the system is, I speak to people in jail'," Mr Tampoe said on Macquarie radio today.
"And in fact she sent me a letter asking me to be strong despite the fact she got 20 years.
"She's an amazing girl."
As her legal team prepares for the next stage in the fight to free Corby, the 27-year-old is adjusting to life in prison.
Pictured here in prison clothes, Corby attended church inside Kerobokan jail and exercised in its yard on the first weekend of her 20-year sentence for drug trafficking.
In the background is the tower cell where Bali bombers Amrozi and Imam Samudra are held.
Corby spent yesterday attending Catholic mass. Sitting through a sermon on the need to avoid temptation and about food for the soul, she was said to have been calm.
Advertisement:
One observer said Corby, dressed in prison uniform, appeared at ease and was not crying or emotional but had prayed intently throughout the 90-minute service as she came term with the long sentence handed down on Friday.
At her own request she has had no family visits since the verdict, but met with her lawyers and financial backer Ron Bakir on Saturday morning. She told her family that she wanted to be alone on the weekend.
Meanwhile, prosecutors in the Corby case will appeal for a heavier sentence, arguing that jail terms for drug smugglers should reflect the seriousness with which Indonesia regards drug crime.
Lead prosecutor Ida Bagus Wiswantanu said yesterday he had finished the draft of his leniency appeal for the Denpasar High Court, which ran to about five pages.
Mr Wiswantanu said the prosecution's belief, that Corby's crime was deserving of a life sentence, still stood and this would be articulated in the appeal.
He said the appeal would argue that drug sentences for those caught should act as a deterrent to others thinking about importing drugs and that Indonesia's tough anti-drugs laws existed for a reason.
"Our arguments include that drugs damage the mentality of humans and threaten national defences," he said.
"We are a developing country and if drug crimes are not prevented by the heaviest sentences, it would hamper the development of this country.
"Also we have to protect the Indonesian nation based on the Constitution.
"Another reason is that drug sentences should have a deterrent effect."
Mr Wiswantanu said the prosecution would also be pointing out that in a recent case, the same Denpasar District Court sentenced two men, a Nigerian and Botswanian, to life in jail for bringing 2.034kg of heroin from Jakarta to Bali.
In that case the prosecution had demanded the death penalty and the judges, including Judge Linton Sirait, from the Corby case, had sentenced both to life instead - the main reason being that they were convicted of supplying and not importing drugs. Corby's case involved importing.
The prosecution would also cite a case from last year where a man from Sierra Leone was sentenced to life in jail and when he appealed to the High Court the sentence was increased to death.
This is one risk for Corby's legal team, where sentences can be - and are - increased on appeal.
.................................................. .
so, do you think she did it? im having mixed emotions...