tedsta.com >> tedy

Australian media has played the hype well to bring the issue of Corby and Bali Nine, who are currently facing the court over drug smuggling allegations in Bali, Indonesia. It all started with Corby and the perceived ‘innocent’ amongst Australian. The anti-Indonesia sentiment over the case is also running high, underscored by the ’shocking’ conditions of Indonesian jail, ‘inefficient’ court system and of course, the troubling death penalty that is by law imposed on drug smugglers.

Without a doubt, being ‘female’ has helped Corby to advance her cause to garner sympathy among the Australian public. She looks innocent and doesnt fit the characteristics of typical drug smugglers, thus she must be innocent. If you are caught carrying prohibited drugs into a country where the law dictates that if convicted the maximum sentence is death penalty, any person, regardless of nationality, gender or affiliations must be tried by the court system in that country. Therefore, facing the possibility of death penalty if convicted. Its as simple as that. I know that Indonesian judges do not normally sympathise over the ‘plea’ of the defendant. Simply because they cannot be emotionally attached to the case. They have to remain detached, impartial and deliberate according to the evidence presented and the law. And even if a person convicted, there are still many appeal avenues that can be sought.

I do not want to argue about her innocence. this is not what this post is about. it is more about the hype that Australian media has tried to generate over the entire case. Especially over the ‘death penalty’ issue. I, myself, do not believe in death penalty, whatever the case is. But it seems to me that Australian public in general, agree and disagree with capital punishment according to their convenience. In this case, they feel that death penalty is immoral, tragic and unwarranted. Few recall the strong stance of Australian public in supporting the death penalty during the trials of Bali bombing. How ironic? It seems to me that it’s ok for indonesians who committed a crime that carries capital punishment to receive death penalty, but its not ok for Australians.

How about being consistent for a change?

This entry was posted on Friday, April 29th, 2005 at 11:33 pm and is filed under current affairs, politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.