The Cairns Post

JOURNEY TO FREEDOM AND FRESH START

-

APRIL, 2005:

Lawrence and eight others are arrested at Bali airport and a local hotel over a plot to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin into Australia

Lawrence has more than 2kg of heroin strapped to her body

SEPTEMBER, 2005:

Indonesian prosecutor­s say all nine Australian­s will be charged with offences that carry the death penalty

FEBRUARY, 2006:

Lawrence gets life in jail but prosecutor­s had argued for 20 years because she co-operated with police

At her trial she claimed ringleader Andrew Chan threatened to kill her and her family unless she carried the drugs

Chan and fellow ringleader Myuran Sukumaran are sentenced to death; the rest end up with life in jail

APRIL, 2006:

Lawrence and four others appeal their life sentences; they win and get 20 years instead – Lawrence decides to not lodge further appeals

SEPTEMBER 2010:

Others try their luck but some lose spectacula­rly, with some jail terms upgraded to the death penalty Ultimately, only the two ringleader­s are executed

After having years shaved off her sentence through remissions for good behaviour, Lawrence is released on November 21

Accompanie­d by her mother and stepbrothe­r, Lawrence flies into Brisbane airport the next morning and takes a connecting flight to her hometown of Newcastle in NSW

Lawrence and her family dodge large media packs at both airports, with her mother pleading for them to be left alone

She could be the only member of the Bali Nine to ever taste freedom again, with the rest to die in jail unless their cases are reviewed

 ??  ?? RELIEF: Renae Lawrence (left) arrives in Newcastle.
RELIEF: Renae Lawrence (left) arrives in Newcastle.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Australia