ONE LAST CHANCE TO CONVINCE THE COURT
THE prosecutor’s summation was simple – Schapelle Leigh Corby was guilty as charged.
Prosecutor Ida Bagus Wiswantanu in his sentence demand or request, at the close of the case, was damning. It was his belief that Corby deserved a life sentence.
She had failed to admit her guilt and there was no plausible evidence for how the marijuana got in her bag.
Pandemonium broke out in the courtroom as Corby tearfully sought to process what a life sentence meant.
Her family was hysterical. People were crying, including her lawyer Lily Lubis.
She had cried frequently during the trial, raising eyebrows about her ability to handle the case.
But this was only the demand. At least it was not the death penalty.
She mouthed this to Mercedes as she was led from the courtroom. Corby had one last chance to convince the court she was innocent, in a personal plea at the end of her own legal team’s closing address.
“Firstly, I would like to say to the prosecutors that I cannot admit to a crime I did not commit. And to the judges — My life at the moment is in your hands but I would prefer it was in your hearts. I say again that I have no knowledge of how the marijuana came to be in my bag.”
She listed a summation of her case, saying there was a problem with security and baggage handling procedures at airports and that she at no stage had claimed ownership of the plastic bag and its contents. She highlighted the lack of fingerprinting of the bags.
“I am an innocent victim of a tactless drug smuggling network,” Corby said.
“I believe the seven months which I’ve already spent in prison is a severe enough punishment for not putting locks on my bags. My heart and my family are painfully burdened by all these accusations and rumours about me and I don’t know how long I can survive here.
“And I swear, as God is my witness, that I did not know that the marijuana was in my bag.
“Please look to your God for guidance in your judgment of me for God only speaks of justice. And Your Honour I ask for you to show compassion, to find me innocent, to send me home.”
Corby added: “Saya tidak bersalah (I am not guilty).”