Why heck yeah! She won't mind!
Posted on 01/22/2013 8:54:52 AM PST by JohnPDuncan
A 56-year-old British grandmother has been sentenced to death by firing squad in Indonesia for drug trafficking.
Lindsay Sandiford was arrested at Bali's airport in May last year after 4.8kg (10.6lb) of cocaine was found in the lining of her suitcase during a routine customs check.
Sandiford, whose last UK address was in Gloucestershire, said she was coerced into bringing the drugs to the island.
Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire has condemned the sentence.
He told MPs the government strongly objected to the death penalty imposed.
Her lawyers have said they were "surprised" at the verdict and would appeal. Prosecutors had recommended a 15-year sentence of imprisonment.
There was an audible gasp of surprise in the courtroom when the verdict was delivered.
Although the maximum penalty for drug trafficking in Indonesia is death, the prosecution had recommended a 15 year sentence, saying Sandiford's age should be taken into consideration and the fact that she has no prior convictions.
But delivering their verdict the judges said there were no mitigating reasons that convinced them they should reduce their sentence.
They added that Mrs Sandiford did not appear to care about the consequences of her actions.
Walking out of the court room the 56-year-old from Gloucestershire appeared shocked, covering her head with a brown sarong, hiding her face from the glare of the cameras.
Her lawyer has said they will definitely appeal. He added it was very rare that judges delivered a sentence that was so much harsher than the prosecution had recommended.
But the judges said there were no mitigating circumstances and the defendant did not appear to care about the consequences of her actions.
They said Sandiford had damaged the image of Bali as a tourism destination and weakened the government's anti-drugs programme.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Sitting by the fire, knitting sweaters, baking apple pie, giving her grandchildren catechism lessons and singing lullabies to them.
that’s harsh. Especially when prosecutors only asked for 15 years which is all but a life sentence for her. It’s not the difference between the recommended 15 years and, say, 20 or 25 years. Stupid woman but don’t know that the death penalty fits.
With 5 kilos of blow she probably does all that stuff at the same time!
She better hurry up that knitting.
but nothing says vacation getaway like a firing squad. The Indonesians should worry more about muslim suicide bombers if they really care about Bali's tourist image.
This is another great example of "Oops, I'm not in (fill in the home country) anymore." People leave places where they have certain expectations of justice and the court system and become surprised when they find out not all countries are the same.
You break their law, you suffer their consequences.
In the U.S. a 56 year old person given a death sentence has absolutely no chance of being executed, with at least twenty years of appeals. In Bali, not so much. She’ll either have her sentence commuted or be dead by March.
Hum, any chance we can get His Excellency to go back to his homeland with some bags I can pack for him???
Grandma got busted with some Cocaine.
At an Indonesian airport back in May.
Judge says she's going to meet her maker.
Will they even send her corpse back?
Who's to say?
Always keep a close eye on your luggage, when traveling abroad. I would probably go use the washroom, to check on the luggage at the last minute, to be sure that nobody has tampered with it.
Well, if she’s a grandma then let her go! /sarc
She should have just wore a burqa and blown up a niteclub....she would have been home by now
Drugs are bad....but Islam is much worse. People need to stop the political correctness about Islam.....and realize it is an evil cult that proselytizes a Pedophile Prophet. Do not vacation in Islamic countries...especially if you are carrying drugs or are a Christian. Islam is Evil
This is 11 pounds of the stuff, not exactly the 100 grams somebody might slip in without you noticing.
But you obviously give excellent advice.
The drug smuggler in this case, however, is not arguing that someone switched her luggage. I believe her argument is that she acted as a courier only because thugs were threatening to murder members of her family that were employees of the drugdealers.
Hate to sound cold, but she broke their laws and she will have to suffer their consequence.
While death seems harsh to westerners, this is Bali’s law. People who go to other countries and break their laws often think they will be treated as they would be in their home country. Unfortunately for them, it just doesn’t work that way.
It would have been smarter for the entire family to move across the country.
If a family member came to me, saying I need to smuggle drugs to save his life, I’d probably shoot him myself.
Grandma says, “Ya pays yer money and ya takes your chance.”
http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_info/mccarthykimberly.html
You’re just tryin’ to cheer me up ;)
She was 36 at the time of her offense. If all goes well, she won’t see her 53rd birthday. I still believe the chances of a 56 year-old offender getting the hot shot in the good ol’ U.S.A. is effectively zero, even if they beg for it.
NEWSFLASH *** MUSICIAN WILLIE NELSON HAS ABRUPTLY CANCELED ALL TRAVEL PLANS TO MALI ***
Why heck yeah! She won't mind!
Well, I bet the folks being executed don't deal or abuse drugs anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'm libertarian on drug use. No. I do not. Smoke dope. I don't want anyone in my family to, either. But if, God forbide, they do, I don't want them going to prison for it.
No one goes to Indonesia without being forewarned of their penalties for drug smuggling.
She shouldn't be surprised at what she got.
Well, I bet the folks being executed don't deal or abuse drugs anymore.
What percentage of them are being caught? What percentage of them can we hope to catch in a free society?
Don't get me wrong, I'm libertarian on drug use. No. I do not. Smoke dope. I don't want anyone in my family to, either. But if, God forbid, they do, I don't want them going to prison for it.
Good to hear!
At least she’ll leave the grandkids with one of life’s important lessons.
My concern for those who use or especially traffic in drugs is as follows:
Never don’t mind drug trafficking, shoot ‘er for sheer stupidity!
As they say on this forum, I could care less!
“Grandmother, why do you have such a white nose?”
For those who don’t know, Bali is a major destination for Hollywood, Rock Stars and uber-rich honeymoons.
You don’t have to be rich to go there but I suspect this was the eventual target for the drugs.
Speaking from experience, I can tell you that granny might have gotten away with it had she carried the coke in pounds instead of kilograms!
Granny had a jug with “corn-squeezins,” as she called it.
With Granny’s moonshine, who needs cocaine?
Then there were the Baldwin sisters on “The Waltons,” who liked to serve visitors their Daddy’s “recipe” (more moonshine).
Liberaltarians should be dropped off over Indonesia, so they can campaign against the Islamist “war on drugs.”
This reminds me of the movie “Return to Paradise.”
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