Prosecutors say they are confident of Corby guilt.

May 6, 2005 3:58 AM

Prosecutors say they are confident of Corby guilt. But they've got to be joking right? Prosecutors are claiming that because Corby was caught 'red handed' this warrants jailing her for life. Isn't this just a little barbaric though? I mean this poor woman has already been through a totally life changing ordeal that will probably leave her mentally scarred for life (I've refrained from saying f__ked up but that's what I mean). The latest news reports state that she has even found God over the past week or so and recently was baptised to proclaim her faith. I find this behaviour very interesting. Is it a clear indication she is reaching out because she feels totally helpless? Most likely. But good for her anyway. Hey, perhaps a belief in a higher power might have helped the guy who testified at her trial a few weeks ago about Corby being a victim of an Australian drug smuggling ring. Of course being a rat (especially while still in jail) can be hazardous to your health, though. So in conclusion, stupid Mr Rat and poor Miss Corby. She still shouldn't go to prison, though. Related: The 'Bali nine'.
posted by sjvilla79 (24 comments total)

Needs some editorial content ya think? *looks around for signal*
posted by peacay at 4:05 AM on May 6, 2005

What happened to my HTML formatting? And what do you mean, peacay? Just spreading the news as usual. Is this too opinionated. I didn't mean it to be.
posted by sjvilla79 at 4:26 AM on May 6, 2005

sjv, are you kidding? You didn't mean it to be too opinionated? It eats a quarter of a screen with THIS IS A GRAVE INJUSTICE. And of course, we've heard this all before. Flagged as noise, but I posted here too to hopefully give you an inkling of how this is a bad post - although I'm sure some folks will come to its defense.
posted by kavasa at 4:41 AM on May 6, 2005

although I'm sure some folks will come to its defense.

I'm not. It's one of the worst I've ever seen. Largely because it assumes that I know who "Corby" is. And it's as long as a frigging master's thesis.
posted by Mayor Curley at 4:48 AM on May 6, 2005

I think we decided last time that whenever you're in another country, you must abide by their laws, crazy as we may think them.

I'm not sure if anyone in that thread spread news of our decision, though.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:53 AM on May 6, 2005

An editorial is a statement that expresses an opinion rather than attempting to report (paraphrase)

Writing a good post is almost like an art, and a paradox; a good post should be short, but it should also be descriptive. It should link to an intriguing page yet be appealing to a wide range of readers. You should express your opinion in the post, but not let it completely bias the post. (quote)

Newsfilter is sometimes given a free ride when it's topical, a really big event, quirky (not farkish) to the point of interest or as adjunct to other material. But not when it's essentially a repeat. Nor when it's (arguably) interesting only to a locality - even if I'm in Oz, I couldn't give a rat's ass about Corby and hate that she clogs up the media every day (part of the reason I find my news online and avoid tv for the mostpart)--- but this IS an Americocentric group website. And I take that as a given. And I do like Oz stuff -- but posting it to MeFi has to be rather errr....selective. (rant)
posted by peacay at 5:15 AM on May 6, 2005

Cool. I understand. Cheers for that, peacay.
posted by sjvilla79 at 5:18 AM on May 6, 2005

I love crosslinking.
posted by peacay at 5:33 AM on May 6, 2005

First off, how do you miss 9 lbs of weed in your luggage? I'm not sure if I understand why she's so "innocent."

Second, if we released everybody who said that their crime was a "totally life changing ordeal" which helped them find God, then prisons would be miraculously empty.
posted by MrZero at 6:15 AM on May 6, 2005

I know nothing about this case... but if she is guilty then she has to pay the price for that. If she was 'a mule', as is alluded to, then that's unfortunate... but her bag was unlocked... very foolish thing to do when travelling, especially to Indonesia.

I'm all for the legalisation of cannabis and imo life for smuggling hash is way too extreme, but I'm from Ireland, not Indonesia. You have to respect the laws of the country you are travelling in.

Sad, but just another case of 'innocent' travellers banged up 'unjustly' in a foreign country.
posted by twistedonion at 6:24 AM on May 6, 2005

Second, if we released everybody who said that their crime was a "totally life changing ordeal" which helped them find God, then prisons would be miraculously empty.

No kidding.

I loved all the righteous indignation of the Aussies the last time this was posted to MeFi ("Even Russell Crow think she's innocent!!). People asking "why can't we just bribe them to let her go?!" (obviously, being brown, they can also be bought)

I'm all opposed to the war on drugs, but this particular girl? Come on, she had 9 pounds of weed in her bags. If that's not enough evidence to convict someone, then what would be the point of even having drug enforcement at the airport...

Then people talk about how smuggling from Australia to Indonesia "doesn’t wash". Australia obviously has more lax marijuana laws, you would certainly expect drugs to flow from a lower liability area to a higher liability area.

(You know, if this girl had been caught in Australia, what would her punishment have been? Probably not life in prison, but I bet 9 pounds would get you a ton of punishment, and we wouldn't even be having this discussion)

The fact is, you're just upset that a beautiful white flip hotty is being detained by the heathen masses of brown people on Indonesia. I find it obnoxious that rather then trying to address the real injustice of the war on drugs everywhere, you see a hot white face and say: "She must be innocent!"

And converting to Christianity? How is that supposed to help her in a Muslim country? Trying times can push anyone to god I guess.

Yes, she's been through a "life changing event", hell she's been in jail for months -- far more punishment (IMO) then is warranted for what she did -- but the Indonesians believe that what she was doing could "ruin thousands of lives". Imagine if something that really could ruin thousands of lives was found in her bag?

---
Well, I oppose the war on drugs and it would be nice if she was set free, hardly think a girl should spend her life in jail just because Australian cultural elitism irritates me. But if you wanted my sympathy you ought to be protesting the drug policies that caused the problem in the first place. This whole "She can’t be guilty, she’s white!! stuff is just obnoxious"
posted by delmoi at 7:18 AM on May 6, 2005

sjvilla79 posted "The latest news reports state that she has even found God over the past week or so and recently was baptised to proclaim her faith."

Oh, who the fuck cares? Seriously, does anyone not "find God" while behind bars? I'm personally sick and tired of that phrase, as I am of the standard description of every accused man in America as being "God-fearing" and "church-going".
posted by clevershark at 7:30 AM on May 6, 2005

does anyone not "find God" while behind bars?

I think you'll find that the vast majority of prisoners do not "find God". And those that do are much more likely to go straight and stay straight when they leave.

For what it's worth, I pretty much take the Granny Weatherwax position on gods.
posted by TimothyMason at 9:31 AM on May 6, 2005

That's the risk you take with smuggling. How much would she have made if she had succeeded?
posted by mischief at 9:32 AM on May 6, 2005

"You'll have plenty of time to convert to Islam".

Anyone remember where that line is form? I'm at a loss, but definately seems appropriate.
posted by ttopher at 10:23 AM on May 6, 2005

Nine pounds of dope in your luggage that you forgot about? Um yeah, that's totally believable. Just like the sports star who forgets about his Beretta in his carry on bag.

Come on now.

clevershark, I hate that whole "I found God" in prison bullshit too. Its ridiculous and manipulative and a cheap means to get sympathy from the faith folks. They should have "found God" before they committed the crime that put them in jail.

Besides, in an Indonesian prison, wouldn't it be more appropriate to say she found Allah?
posted by fenriq at 10:43 AM on May 6, 2005

Its ridiculous and manipulative and a cheap means to get sympathy from the faith folks.

Not necessarily. They may have "found" the Calvanist God, in which case they've discovered that their shit out of luck in his good books, and their prison sentence is just a reflection of His Great Displeasure in them.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 11:19 AM on May 6, 2005

C-D, you're right, it may not be a cheap ploy for some. But I would guess that the majority say they found god because it does elicit sympathy (especially in death penalty cases) from the God crowd.

From a conversation with a coworker about this, what countries execute drug smugglers still?
posted by fenriq at 11:58 AM on May 6, 2005

Singapore, for one,
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 12:27 PM on May 6, 2005

TimothyMason writes " I think you'll find that the vast majority of prisoners do not 'find God'. And those that do are much more likely to go straight and stay straight when they leave."

Maybe I could have been a little accurate in my comments, but I'd be willing to wager that at least a third, if not half or even more, claim to have "found God" by the time their parole hearings come around.
posted by clevershark at 12:35 PM on May 6, 2005

"You'll have plenty of time to convert to Islam".

It finally came to me ((through a friend) if anyone cares): the "I plead the fif" skit from Chapelle's Show. Classic.
posted by ttopher at 12:39 PM on May 6, 2005

Delmoi, you're wrong in every way, but thanks for saying Australia has a culture.
posted by emf at 3:11 AM on May 7, 2005

Besides, in an Indonesian prison, wouldn't it be more appropriate to say she found Allah?

In most of Indonesia that would be a better sympathy route fenriq, but Bali itself is mostly Hindu.
posted by newscouch at 12:48 PM on May 7, 2005

Updated discussion about the conviction here in case anybody reads through the archives.

Just a public service from your local devil.
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 3:08 AM on May 27, 2005