Geez, you have to feel sorry for her. She strikes me as an incredibly beautiful and intelligent young lady, who was blessed with a pretty good upbringing. She was, by most accounts, in Bali having a holiday with some friends. Suddenly she's in gaol, facing the death penalty for drug smuggling, and later sentenced to an equally shocking 20-years imprisonment. It just seems out of character, and most Australians seem to agree.
Would she have been found guilty in Australia? No, simply because an Australian court would have given credence to the overwhelming evidence of a drug-racket operating through the international airports in this country. I suspect someone from the Federal Government will cop criticism for not providing sufficient assistance to Corby, by way of evidence of illegal trafficking at the airports. There is no doubt evidence there that wasn't used.
I suppose the problem is that the Indonesian legal system is based on completely different fundamentals compared to ours. There is no presumption of innocence. The task for both sides is to make your case the most compelling -- the best argument wins. And if the courtroom won't pay attention to just about all of the defence's evidence, then you have no hope in hell of avoiding a guilty verdict.
Not only are Indonesian police reknown for their corruption, so too is the legal system I suspect. I wouldn't trust their system with anything. It brings to two the list of countries I won't be visiting:
1. USA -- due to their over-the-top inspections and the presumption that you're a terrorist etc.
2. Indonesia -- pure for the corruption and the farce that is their inadequate legal system.
But this thread isn't about me. It's not about the lessons I have learned about travel. It's about a 20-something Australian, who had no motive and no previous history of anything remotely shadey, being found guilty of a crime she did not commit. I'm told Lindy Chamberlain (who was wrongly convicted of killing her own baby, and later cleared) has sent her best wishes and prayers to Schapelle. I think the only thing I can offer Schapelle is my own thoughts and prayers. This verdict makes me feel terrible in the gut. It makes me very saddened to see her life crippled by all this. 20 years is a long time -- personally I hope the appeals system works better than the normal legal system.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Schapelle.