Hopes of evading the death penalty are fading for Bali Nine Kerobokan Prison inmate Myuran Sukumaran now that he just reportedly received a letter under President Joko Widodo’s name, formally rejecting his bid for clemency.
The letter dated December 30, 2014 to the Australian prisoner was hand-delivered to the “Hotel K” yesterday and the consulate was notified around 4 pm, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
Printed on Jokowi’s official letterhead, the text reportedly states there is “not enough reason” for the president to extend clemency and emphasizes that “the decision is in effect on the day it is decided.”
Fellow Bali Nine death row inmate Andrew Chan has not yet received any such letter, reports say.
Sukumaran and Chan were holding out for one more “Hail Mary Play” in which a 2013 Indonesian Constitutional Court ruling would allow them to submit multiple appeals with the addition of new evidence.
However, according to reports, it is unclear now that this letter has been issued if it is too late for any more appeals to be considered.
What is most compelling about this story is Sukumaran’s much publicized attempts at rehabilitation since his death sentence was issued back in 2006. The inmate has made world headlines from his work in Kerobokan Prison’s art program.
Shocked by the news, Sukumaran has told press that this outcome is more of a punishment for his family and his emotions rang out clearly:
”My mum’s on the floor, tears, crying and can’t talk. My sister is in tears and can’t talk. My brother’s so shocked he didn’t even know what to say. I’ve been walking around feeling like someone’s punched me in the stomach,” he said, as quoted by the SMH.
“Is there no such thing as rehabilitation??? Can’t someone change????
“All the big drug dealers are free and clear to do what they want cause they pay people off big time! That is the only thing me and Andrew can’t do, is to pay big money. We were attempting to take drugs out of Indonesia not importing [them]. We failed. We f—-d up. We were wrong, we know that. We’re paying for that. Our families are paying for our mistake.”
Sukumaran’s clemency rejection comes after Jokowi announced last month that the death sentence for drug cases was important “shock therapy” and he would be firm about exercising capital punishment. His administration has said it’s resolved to carry out executions for inmates on death row for drugs.
“I was astonished to hear that all 64 drug offenders on death row were to be treated the same, as if it’s a rubber stamp process,” said Julian McMahon, a lawyer from the legal team representing Sukumaran and Chan.
Sukumaran and Chan were the ring leaders of a group of nine Australians referred to as the Bali Nine, convicted for attempting to smuggle 8.2 kilograms of heroin out of Bali in 2005.
The two inmates saw they are not the same men they were back in 2006.
“We’ve changed,” Sukumaran wrote in an apology, as printed by the SMH. “We’ve done so much in the last six to seven years … We rehabilitated ourselves with the help of the guards here … we were doing good things.
“What use will executing us be? … We don’t deserve to be executed. Our families shouldn’t have to suffer like this.”
Photo by AFP
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