Convicted Bali Nine drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, have just about come to the end of the line. After being handed a death penalty for the attempted smuggling of 8.3 kg of hereon from Denpasar Indonesia, to Australian in 2005, the pair have battled the sentence for nearly 10 years. With the newly elected President Joko Widodo resuming capital punishment after the countries 2008 hiatus on the matter, the taking of life is well underway. 6 people were put before the firing squad in a single night in late January, and it looks as though a similar number will meet the same fate within days. Prisoners will be transferred from Bali's Kerobokan gaol to Nusa Kambangan island, where they will be executed. They will be awoken at around midnight, and driven to a secluded piece of bush land, and given a few minutes to compose themselves. They'll be then given the option of standing, sitting or kneeling before a firing squad of 12 riflemen, 9 of whom will fire blanks from distance of about 5-10 metres. If the killing is not clean, a single shot will fired behind the ear. A witness to a 2008 Indonesian execution stated that the victim actually survived the initial process and was left bleed out over a period of about 10 minutes. There has been some concern in the past about the efficiency of those who have been called upon to carry out the court's sentences. The head of Bali's prosecutors office Momock Bambang Samiarso, said today that Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran will probably be moved to Nusa Kambangan this week. Once there, they will have about 3 days of life left to them. Terrifying stuff.
I sense that there is going to be something of a consensus when it comes to replies to this thread. I have no sympathy with drug smugglers, whether they be organised South American cartels, ignorant teenage backpackers offered money to carry packages through Customs or idiots like those languishing in Australasian prisons. Perhaps they should be injected with the heroin and made to suffer a horrible death rather than a quick exit by firing squad; that might discourage others. In any event they are no loss to society and keeping them in prison costs more than they are worth, especially in parts of the world where many live in abject poverty.
I wonder how much murderers and drug dealers cost society. When they reach NPA in prison do they still get a state pension? Couldn't the money be used for a better purpose?
The last time I read any statistics published on the subject, it cost £40,000 to keep somebody in UK prison for a whole year. I know that villains cannot claim State Pension whilst they are in prison and they do not accrue pension rights. Ironically, the benefits situation of a villain’s partner may change as they could be entitled to claim a Council Tax reduction for single occupancy or things like Housing Benefits. Because some ‘benefits’ are not means tested, prisoners over 65 probably still get bus passes and winter fuel allowances!
Some revisionist thoughts on here --heroin itself is a great pain killer that is used to alleviate terminal illness pain -it is also a pricey commodity on the black market -opium is very similar -the east India company made its fortune out of the stuff -Britain actually went to war with China over the right to distribute the stuff -funny how things change.....
Yep things have definitely changed. We wouldn't dream of going to war with the Chinese now. They'd give us a proper hiding.
Found a very reflective piece written in 08 by a gentleman called Luke Davies. It's a bit on the long side, but full of brooding thought. http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2008/september/1289779129/luke-davies/penalty-death
Well things are all over the place at the moment. Chan and Sukumaran were to be moved to their execution site last Wednesday, which would have seen them shot this weekend, but problems arose on Nusa Kambangan. The accelerated rate of executions has caught short the local authorities at the prison that will house the inmates for the last few days of their lives. With what looks likely to be at least 7 to be shot, overcrowding has become a problem. Each prisoner is allotted an isolated cell, but at as it stands at the moment, there are not enough of them. Last minute appeals are will be undertaken early next week. These appeals centre around President Joko Widodo legal right to deny clemency. It appears that the President's list of 64 prisoners to be executed, is scant when it comes to information. The appeal is claiming that decisions are being made without any real knowledge of those to be shot. They hint at a blanket denial of appeals. Two other prisoners who were to meet the same fate last weekend, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso from the Philippines and Serge Areski Atlaoui from France have both been given permission to lodge last minute appeals. There is also another appeal taking place, this one urged by the authorities on Nusa Kambangan. They have asked the Attorney-General's office to inspect the Brazilian man Rodrigo Gularte who is showing symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia. There is a growing concern that the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott may be inflaming the situation. As his Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop furiously works the back rooms between the two countries, in an effort to play up the ties between Indonesia and Australia, Abbott seems to be lobbing grenades. He's thrown up Australia's Billion Dollar support to Indonesia in it's time of crisis when the 04 tsunami hit Aceh. He was hinting that you owe Australia. It went down like a lead balloon in Jakarta. Foreign Affairs spokesman Arrmanatha stated. "Threats are not part of diplomatic language, and from what I know, no one responds well to threats." The fear in this country is that the bullying of President Widodo may well paint him into a corner, leaving him little option but to push ahead with the executions. The 6 executions carried out on a single day last month in Indonesia, coupled with the pleas of Ban Ki-moon and a good number of countries, has pushed State sanctioned death to the fore. Any number of organisations and people have taken the opportunity to push for the abolition of the Capital Punishment. But it's also spurred on those who've embraced the concept. The highlighting of death by gunfire has led a couple of states in the US to go down the same path. One of them, Utah, passed legislation this week to carry out shootings if lethal injection supplies can't be met. The legislation still has to be passed by the senate. Wyoming has also passed it in the State House. An Associated Press journalist who witnessed the 2010 execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner in Utah, stated how the man was strapped to a chair surrounded by sandbags and a target placed on his chest. As the bullets tore through him, he clenched his fists and tried to raise his arms. Utah Representative Brian King stated according to Reuters. "If not shot in the heart, the prisoner bleeds to death slowly." Although lethal injection is mainly used in the USA, some states allow some of the following, gassing, electrocution and hanging. The reasons for the lack of lethal drugs for executions is that supplies came from Europe, and the top two manufactures have pulled the plug on the deal. They're not keen on being linked to Capital Punishment. Bad for business I guess.
I don't have a problem with capital punishment if it's an eye for an eye, but executing drug smugglers is over the top. I understand Heroin ruins lives, but it's a choice the addicts choose to make, nobody forces them to use it.
& hence HSBC was formed by the owner of the fleet that was shipping the opium to China - funny how 150 years later they are still looking after the elite with their Swiss bank accounts!!
I don't believe in capital punishment, stupid and dangerous men though the drug smugglers are. Don't think the opium war was quite as straight forward as you make out. The EIS didn't start opium consumption in China it was already rife. But they cynically chose to become the source of supply when the Chinese wouldn't trade properly. As Jeremy Paxman said the Emperor and court did not want to trade with Britain (or anyone else) but the Chinese citizens had other ideas and chose opium. Shouldn't have done it.
Turf wars they call it -but on a continental scale -I think many Chinese would have been well aware of the damage it was causing their society -but the British imperialists were determined to exploit them for profit -at any cost......
With all the pressure being applied, the executions have been postponed. It now seems likely that the shootings won't take place this month. The authorities on Nusakambangan have denied that there are no cells available for the pair, which leaves the thought that something is happening behind the scenes. But with President Widodo under heavy pressure from within Government circles, it appears unlikely that a reprieve will take place. Several last minute appeals will be undertaken in a few days, all are expected to be knocked on the head. It now looks as though the number to be put to death on the day now stands at 11. There will be 4 Indonesians, 2 Australians and 1 each from the Philippines, France, Brazil, Nigeria and Ghana. One gentleman who's been slated for execution, the Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, has been on the death island for 7 years. He's one sick individual. So disturbed is he that the authorities on Nusakambangan have themselves asked for the man to be examined. Both government and private medical opinion is that Gularte is suffering form Paranoid Schizophrenia. He thinks he's safe as executions have been abolished across the planet. He also thinks that nothing is wrong with him and refuses medical help, not understanding that such an illness could possibly aid his plight. He's well on his way to a deluded death as the Attorney General has stated that there is no law that states that the ill can't be executed. He wears a baseball cap stuffed with paper to avoid satellites communicating with the chips implanted in his head, and he sleeps with his head against a brick wall to prevent messages getting through. His aged mother is to him, two persons, one good, one bad. The latter is there to bomb him. He believes he works within the prison security system. And fellow prisoners are scared witless of the man, refusing to even speak to him as he sees and speaks with ghosts.
Looks like Indonesia is girding her loins in preparation for the mass executions. The Bali duo of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were expected to be moved to Nusa Kambangan last week, but the end of the line facility was not quite ready for the men. Cells were available, but they were not isolated. The law states that all awaiting imminent death must be isolated from other prisoners. Materials arrived yesterday and orders have been given to to quickly erect barriers between the condemned men's cells and those of the rest of the prison population. Bali's chief prosecutor Momock Bambang Samiarso has indicated that he's waiting on news from Nusa Kambangan within the next few days. He has stated that the transfer will probably take place this week. “What we want is the sooner the better, if they (Nusakambangan) can be fast, we’ll be fast too.” Last ditch appeals will take place today, but they will in all likelihood be denied. All 11 are now at death's door.
As anyone who has been to Bali will know if these executions go ahead and Australia turns against this Hindu oasis (in an Islamic federation) then Bali could be in real trouble economically. As any Balinese will tell you it was the Australians who kept the island afloat after the Bali bombings.
Interesting stuff Busty. Seems a bit of a street poll was taken on the subject in Bali, and next to nobody was against the executions. In fact some said straight out, take your holidays elsewhere then. This is big news in Australia at the moment, with Government figures saying that the million visits per year by Australians may be in dented. Tour organizers are saying that Bali inquires have dropped right off. But being so cheap and close, I think it will probably be business as usual within a few months. PS. Even though my wife and I enjoyed our visit there, we won't be going back. I've met people who go just about every year, I doubt they'll be put off by it.
