Death sentence for British woman

Kali I think I know how you feel, perhaps in some ways this relates to a thread I was reading earlier that quoted the phrase "when in Rome", which in this instance could mean that if you know that certain crimes carry this sort of penalty in certain countries, then you can't expect to benefit (not the right word, I know) from the type of justice system adhered to in the UK

Really, Kali?
This is from the BBC website:
"Her case had been taken up by the British human rights charity, Reprieve, which said Sandiford was "targeted by drug traffickers who exploited her vulnerability and made threats against her children".

The charity said she was held for 10 days without access to a lawyer or translator after her arrest and the Indonesian authorities had failed to inform the British embassy during this time.

In response to the sentence, Reprieve's Harriet McCulloch said: "She is clearly not a drug king pin - she has no money to pay for a lawyer, for the travel costs of defence witnesses or even for essentials like food and water.

"She has cooperated fully with the Indonesian authorities but has been sentenced to death while the gang operating in the UK, Thailand and Indonesia remain free to target other vulnerable people."

During the trial Sandiford's defence lawyer said a history of mental health problems made her client vulnerable."

I suppose I have been fortunate in my life never to have been exploited by drug traffickers and never had to worry about my children receiving threats against them.
I hope she is reprieved - I am against the death penalty, period.

jane I must admit I have not had access today to the full account, therefore I was unaware of ^ and perhaps should bring myself fully up to speed!

Yes, really Jane. I suppose I feel more for those who were going to be lured into taking cocaine. I suppose you have also been fortunate not to have drug users in your family?

I wonder at the fact that there no mitigation of her sentence after cooperating with the police. Does anybody else remember "Bangkok Hilton" - a TV film about a girl and her brother (I think) convicted of drug smuggling and executed. It terrified me then, the thought of the draconian punshments meted out still does and when DD went travelling 9 years ago I was terrified that someone would put something in her luggage without her knowledge. I believe what they did to prevent this was to have their back packs "shrink-wrapped" - but it still gave me sleepless nights.
Is this woman an innocent victim? I have my doubts but there are many guiltier than her and they do not face this dreadful sentence.

No, I haven't Kali as far as I know, but that does not alter the barbarism of the sentence.

Well I'm usually against the death sentence too Jane but the question I raised was why don't I feel the indignation I'd usually feel? Is it perhaps the 'same old, same old' argument and the annoyance that these people feel its ok to go to another country, flour their laws and expect everyone to jump up and down shouting 'but we're British!'?
I'm just asking the question not being dogmatic, conservative or adopting a 'flog 'em and hang them high' morality.

Kali I did not realise your question was meant to be taken literally.
I have no idea why you feel no indignation - only you know the answer to that.

I don't think there is any way of knowing for sure how "guilty" she is. Could well be a victim in this scenario for all we know. Certainly the story told by the police and by the press are not sufficient for us to judge.
But one thing is for sure, the major criminals would never take a risk like that - they find "mules" to do the work for them, one way or another.

Sorry Jane I really did mean it literally and perhaps wondered if others felt the same way. I wonder if its simply getting older and more cynical, or if we've had too many cases like this or if it's even recent events in my life. I really don't care any more, but feel that I should and this is confusing. I felt very upset by the rape and killing of the young woman in India recently and would be quite happy to see the death sentence handed out to these thugs. So what has happened to the idealist who signed the protest against Henratty's death sentence in the 60s? Where has that person gone?

Perhaps indignation is not the right word Kali
Why should we feel indignant? The legal system in Indonesia is not our responsibility.
What I feel is horror, pity and revulsion, but not indignation.

Going off at a tangent [as I am prone to doing] this reminded me of a relative of a neighbour of mine that I'd never heard of. She was called Violet van der Elst. She was very opposed to the execution of Ruth Elliss and drove a lorry into the prison wall on the day of the execution. She was an amazing lady. I'll try to do a link but my links don't seem to work at the moment .

Ruth Ellis! Of 'yield to night ' fame.
I remember reading the book and meeting the poem
Loveliest of trees
The cherry now
Is hung with snow!

I've loved that poem ever since.

I have always been totally anti death sentence.

Here you are jeni i love it too.

A. E. Housman (1859–1936). A Shropshire Lad. 1896.

II. Loveliest of trees, the cherry now


LOVELIEST of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now, of my threescore years and ten, 5
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room, 10
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.

granthammatters.co.uk/van-der-elst-violet-1882-1966/
granthammatters.co.uk/van-der-elst-violet-1882-1966/

Oh poo...

granthammatters.co.uk/van-der-elst-violet-1882-1966/

She would have made a brilliant gransnetter!

Why can't I cut'n'paste any more? I was so chuffed that I'd learned how to do it . What an amazing woman Violet was. I must ask my friend more about her. I think she was his aunt [thanks Jane, by the way...]

tegan Your cutting'n'pasting was ok I think, but you have to put the double square brackets round it make a hyperlink, then it goes blue.

marelli I agree she would.

Tegan if you click on the 'Convert links automatically' box just below the posting box before you actually post your message it'll turn your link blue.

I never did the brackets before;just ticked the box. I'll do some secret practicing on a quiet thread again .