Schapelle: Evidence Facts Truth by Tony Wilson

Author:Tony Wilson [Wilson, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Psychopathology, Psychology, Schapelle, Political, General, Addiction, Law, Women
ISBN: 9781741107111
Publisher: New Holland
Published: 2008-09-15T14:00:00+00:00

16:

Schapelle in Kerobokan three days after the verdict

THE Sunday papers across Australia had been full of Schapelle’s case and her circumstances in prison. Sydney Daily Telegraph reporter Cindy Wockner had interviewed Head Judge Linton Sirait who told her he had slept well, a response to comments made by Rosleigh in court after the verdict. He described the trial as a ‘crying competition’ and said it was the first case he had been involved in where defence lawyers cried openly in court. ‘I am responsible to God for my verdict, not people,’ he said.

There was talk in the media about people boycotting Bali and Indonesia’s national carrier Garuda cancelled a few flights. The Indonesian embassy and consulates in Australia were flooded with angry calls and people were even refusing to donate to the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal without assurances the money would not go to Indonesia. Australian travellers were wrapping their baggage in plastic, using padlocks and going to some trouble to make certain they were secure. Supporters were also planning a national day of protest on July 10, Schapelle’s birthday.

In Schapelle’s book My Story, it was reported that Rasiah had asked Mercedes to come to a meeting in his office on the night of May 28, 2005, where he told her that he had visited Schapelle in Kerobokan that day to ask her to sign paperwork saying she was happy with her lawyer’s performance and would like them to continue to represent her.

Schapelle had asked for space to be alone from time to time since her arrest so she could work out whatever her demons were at a given time in the prison, and then re-group. At other times she needed extra support, but overall it highlighted her strength to combat her situation. Although time has eroded that strength to some degree, Schapelle remains a fairly strong person even after four years in jail.

The Sunday papers depicted Kerobokan prison as a hell hole with pictures. They claimed inmates were racially abusing Schapelle, that life expectancy in the jail was 10 years because AIDS was rife and drug use rampant and unchecked among its then 525 inmates, of whom 62 were women. I found out for myself that most of what they said was fairly accurate.

Apart from an early TV interview while Schapelle was still in the cells at Polda police headquarters, a few snatched words here and there from holding cells at court, and an interview with a Sydney radio journalist, I was the first print journalist to interview her and certainly the first media person to speak to her after the conviction. While conscious of all that, my main concern was to find out how she was faring after the ultimate nightmare of the verdict day.

The day started with the usual ritual of that time, with Rosleigh going to an Indonesian restaurant where her metal container would be filled with freshly made spring rolls and boiled rice for Schapelle’s breakfast. Then Rosleigh and Mick, together with Rosleigh’s partner

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