Marijuana.com

Lothar121

Corby's Defence Not Enough
Sian Powell | Melbourne Herald Sun | 04/29/2005

THE chief judge in the Schapelle Corby case yesterday said the Gold Coast beauty student's defence team had not "done enough" to prove her innocence.

In an extraordinary interview with The Weekend Australian just weeks before he and two fellow judges hand down their verdict, Chief Judge Linton Sirait said: "From Corby's defence I haven't heard anything to prove she is innocent."

But Judge Sirait refused to say whether he believed Corby - accused of smuggling 4.1kg of marijuana into Bali in a bodyboard bag last October - was guilty, nor would he speculate on possible sentences if she is convicted.

Judge Sirait confirmed he had not understood Corby's desperate final plea of innocence on Thursday as it had not been translated in the court, but said it made no difference: "Not enough. He or she has to prove he or she is not guilty. Every inmate would say: 'I'm not guilty'. I'm still looking for something related to the law."

Judge Sirait also revealed he had never acquitted an accused drug offender in the estimated 500 such cases he had presided over in his 15 years on the bench. He, along with two other judges, will determine Ms Corby's guilt or innocence and the sentence that should be imposed.

Prosecutors have demanded she receive a life jail term if convicted, although the judges can still impose the death sentence if they see fit.

In her final emotional address to Bali District Court, Ms Corby, 27, pleaded for the judges to have mercy, saying her only crime was not locking her luggage.

Judge Sirait has heard mainly marijuana cases in his career, and is now regarded as one of the more experienced drugs judges in Indonesia. Last week he sentenced a Nigerian heroin trafficker to life because more than 1.1kg of heroin had been found in his bags.

Marijuana is considered a schedule-one drug in Indonesia, along with heroin, and at least one marijuana smuggler has been sentenced to death in the country. Bali's drugs squad chief, Bambang Sugiarto, said he had only heard of one drugs acquittal.

"But that was a long, long time ago," he said. "The quantity was very small. Nothing like that has happened since I've been positioned here."

A senior lawyer for Ms Corby, Erwin Siregar, said he had only heard of acquittals "maybe in the 80s". He nevertheless remained optimistic the judges would find Ms Corby innocent.

She will face court again next week, when prosecutors reply to the defence's summing up. In a 75-page address, the defence tried to counter all the prosecution's arguments, questioned police handling of the evidence, asked why the evidence had not been fingerprinted, and asked why Ms Corby was questioned at the airport without an adequate interpreter present.

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said Australia had sent a copy of its prisoner-transfer agreement with Thailand to Indonesia, as part of its bid for a similar deal with Jakarta.

__________________

Donate. Write. Make a difference.. Posting Guidelines | Marijuana Policy Project | NORML | DPA | Drug WarRant | Media Awareness Project

 

WNB

What kind of bull**** legal system requires people accused of crimes to prove their innocence?

Not to make any Australian jokes, but this is a kangaroo court.

__________________
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength

king cola

He or she has to prove he or she is not guilty. Every inmate would say: 'I'm not guilty'. I'm still looking for something related to the law."

Well look at the movie Shawshank Redemption, Andy claimed he was inoccent which he was, but just didn't have the proof. Some guy got transferred to his prison and claimed that when he was locked up in another his cell mate claimed to have murdered 2 people and they put the wrong person(Andy) in jail for it.

This is almost like the claim in this story of Corby about how some people in jail claimed their shipment got caught, relating to her incident. I mentioned this before but just couldn't remember the movie but do now. This whole incident reminds me of the movie that came out in 1999 i think it was, "Brokedown Palace". The 2 girls get accused of smuggling heroin while leaving thailand, they were setup, had no clue they even had the drugs in their luggage, went to court and everything and it still didn't help. I would mention more corruption that was found later on in the movie but that would ruin it if some of you are interested in actually watching it.

Another thing about the Corby case, they didn't translate anything she said, then the judge passes it off as oh it wouldn't make a difference! How the hell can she even prove she was inoccent anyway? What it comes down to is that you can't trust anyone handling your luggage anymore.

It's also funny how everyone, even our country the U.S says oh your inoccent until proven guilty, that's all a bunch of bullsh*t. Everyone knows when you get arrested your actually guilty until proven inoccent, they don't go and say that though til your in court facing jail. I mean if your really inoccent and get arrested, it doesn't matter because to them you are guilty and then have to prove your really inoccent, like Corby.