DianaSilence of the Lambs to Schapelle Corby?
April 7th 2008 08:38
My life is outa control, there is no doubt about it.
First day of term: Slept in. (how could this be??)
Daughter number 2, who leaves at 7am, had her summer dress uniform hem down which had to be sewn up in a hurry.
Not enough change for bus fares and lunch money, in fact nothing for the children to make lunch from cos we got back kinda late yesterday arvo.
Michael and I (well, mostly me ) bottle fed the lamb, fed the 11 guinea-pigs and 4 chooks, tied up the pup, before we realised the car keys were lost and the clock in the dining room had stopped at 7.40am. We thought we were doing so well for time before this.
We weren't.
Got to school late. Missed the staff briefing.
Taught all day with a brief break at lunch where I raced home to feed the lamb, who was bleating fit to bust.
Got home, started cooking dinner, supervising homework n stuff as per usual. Silence of the lambs with 500 mls of milk (the most she has ever had), then broke up a fight between lamb and pup, who is getting jealous.
One daughter has to make a cake for science for tomorrow, with a specific sized cake tin (which of course we don't have).
Starting to feel stressed cos I have to attend rehearsals tomorrow night for Berlioz Romeo and Juliet symph which is notoriously hard and me not practice!!!!! Help!!!!!!
But, you know what?
If ever I feel overwhelmed, all I have to do is think of poor Schapelle Corby mouldering away behind bars in Bali.
Recently in the news again, the wretched girl has received yet another set-back in her ongoing nightmare of a life. Have any of you comfortable people ever given her a thought during the past few years??Have you read her book? Have you imagined her terrrible terrible llfe?
At the very least she could finish her sentence in Australia. I feel so terribly terribly sorry for her and am convinced of her innocence.
Poor brave Schapelle.
Bit like the the guy in 'For the Term of His Natural Life'.
I mean, have you read that one?
First day of term: Slept in. (how could this be??)
Daughter number 2, who leaves at 7am, had her summer dress uniform hem down which had to be sewn up in a hurry.
Not enough change for bus fares and lunch money, in fact nothing for the children to make lunch from cos we got back kinda late yesterday arvo.
Michael and I (well, mostly me ) bottle fed the lamb, fed the 11 guinea-pigs and 4 chooks, tied up the pup, before we realised the car keys were lost and the clock in the dining room had stopped at 7.40am. We thought we were doing so well for time before this.
We weren't.
Got to school late. Missed the staff briefing.
Taught all day with a brief break at lunch where I raced home to feed the lamb, who was bleating fit to bust.
Got home, started cooking dinner, supervising homework n stuff as per usual. Silence of the lambs with 500 mls of milk (the most she has ever had), then broke up a fight between lamb and pup, who is getting jealous.
One daughter has to make a cake for science for tomorrow, with a specific sized cake tin (which of course we don't have).
Starting to feel stressed cos I have to attend rehearsals tomorrow night for Berlioz Romeo and Juliet symph which is notoriously hard and me not practice!!!!! Help!!!!!!
But, you know what?
If ever I feel overwhelmed, all I have to do is think of poor Schapelle Corby mouldering away behind bars in Bali.
Recently in the news again, the wretched girl has received yet another set-back in her ongoing nightmare of a life. Have any of you comfortable people ever given her a thought during the past few years??Have you read her book? Have you imagined her terrrible terrible llfe?
At the very least she could finish her sentence in Australia. I feel so terribly terribly sorry for her and am convinced of her innocence.
Poor brave Schapelle.
Bit like the the guy in 'For the Term of His Natural Life'.
I mean, have you read that one?
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Comment by Phobos
Corby's lawyers argued that she had no knowledge of the cannabis until customs officials at the airport found it. They claimed that baggage handlers in Brisbane may have put the cannabis in her bag without her knowledge, acting as part of an inter-state drug smuggling network. According to her attorneys, the cannabis was to be removed in Sydney, but was not.
Three of Corby's travelling companions testified in court that they had seen Corby pack her bag before leaving for the airport and that only the flippers and yellow bodyboard were inside it. They also said that Corby did open the bag herself at the customs counter.
However, Corby comes from a drug-culture family.
During the 1970s, Schapelle's father, Michael Corby was fined for possession of cannabis.He indicated that he was fined AUD$400 for possession of two grams of cannabis. However, he stated that the cannabis was not his, saying "Some girl had it and they busted the whole joint and I had to go along for the ride". He also stated that he has had about a "half-dozen" drunk driving convictions, but added, "Who hasn't?"
A commercial quantity of high grade cannabis weighing 5 kg (11 lb/0.79 st) was seized from a property located beside that of Michael Corby one month prior to his daughter's arrest. Corby's father and the neighbour had also lived in adjacent properties in Middlemount, Queensland.
Corby's half-brother Clinton Rose has spent time in jail for a range of offences. He was serving a 15 month sentence in Queensland for breaking and entering, and fraud. This was his second time in prison In January 2002, Rose had been convicted of drug possession. Rose had pled guilty to what Southport District Judge Robert Hall described as a "campaign of crime", pleading to a total of 62 charges accumulated over a six-month period.
During the trial, Corby wrote to then-Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, saying in part, "as a father and as a leader, I plead for your help. I did not do this. I beg for justice. I don't know how much longer I can do this. Please bring me home."
Howard was quoted as saying in response: "I feel for her. I understand why there's a lot of public sympathy for her; I would simply say that I hope justice is done and it's a fair and true verdict...I would ask the rhetorical question: My fellow Australians, if a foreigner were to come to Australia and a foreign government were to start telling us how we should handle (it), we would react very angrily to that."
On 5 July 2005, the High Court ruled that the case should be reopened by the district court, allowing the defence to call new witnesses. The onus was on the defence team to call sufficient witnesses to prove that Corby did not place the drugs in her boogie board bag. A man was named as the owner of the drugs in Corby's bag. He was named as a key witness, but he said that he 'knows nothing'.
On October 14, 2005, Bali's High Court reduced the sentence to 15 years. Both sides again appealed, this time to Indonesia's Supreme Court.
On 19 January 2006, the Indonesian Supreme Court overturned the five year reduction in her sentence on appeal and reinstated the original 20 year jail term handed down. The Court also ordered that the evidence - the bodyboard bag and drugs - be destroyed, signalling that the case was now closed
Schapelle is not Rufus.
Comment by Iustitia
Corby may have presented her case foolishly, yes. For instance:
The rejection of an offer of experienced defence barristers: After the verdict, Alexander Downer revealed that the government had offered the free help of two highly skilled Queen's Counsel and that this offer was rejected. However the family took up the offer for the High court appeal, but after more damaging allegations of bribery by the barristers, further assistance was refused.
Failure to attack the weaknesses of forensic evidence. The bag of cannabis was not weighed or fingerprinted by the Indonesians. Tim Lindsay of the University of Melbourne, Asian law expert, suggested that a greater focus on the weaknesses of the forensic evidence could have been helpful.
Use of hearsay evidence: No substantive probative evidence was presented to back up the suggestion that baggage handlers had put the drugs in Corby's bag. Hearsay evidence from John Patrick Ford was a distraction and had no chance of being accepted as having probative value.
Other agendas: Defence lawyers and other Corby supporters often seemed to be equally interested in their own publicity and celebrity as they were with Corby's interests.
Trial by media: Seemingly no effort was made to lower the profile of the case in the media. Even minor issues were the subject of headlines. The high profile of the case made it impossible to come to a quiet, negotiated settlement with the Indonesian justice system.
Persons associated with Corby publicly attacked the Indonesian judges and legal system in the media. (Notably Ron Bakir suggested that bribery was inherent in the system.)
Nevertheless, the prosecution had real problems with their case!
The bag of cannabis was not fingerprinted by the Indonesian custom officials or police, nor analysed to determine its source of origin.
Indonesia police rejected assistance from Australian Federal Police to DNA test the cannabis and bag. On December 3rd 2004 Corby signed papers for her consent for testing to be done by the AFP but Indonesian Police would not release a sample for testing - the Australian Federal Police would have had no jurisdiction over a domestic Indonesian criminal case.
No attempt was made to search or weigh Corby's other luggage, even after she demanded it, though again, there was no obligation upon Indonesian police to do so. Her belongings were searched after she was taken into custody.
CCTV cameras at the Bali airport could corroborate or contradict Corby's account of what happened in customs. The prosecutor said the tapes were not checked. The defence requested to see them. Corby's mother claims that Schapelle requested the CCTV footage be shown in court, to which the judge replied, "We will use that if we need to". Corby's mother claims the footage was never shown.
Surely she's done enough time in that hell-hole.
Foolish, misled, innocent, guilty. Doesn't matter. She's an Aussie. Bring her home.