Australian marijuana smuggler Schapelle Leigh Corby made headlines in her homeland Tuesday when local media reported a psychiatrist's opinion that she has gone insane, and will be unable to serve her 20-year sentence unless she is moved out of Bali's Kerobokan Prison.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that associate professor Jonathan Phillips, who is believed to have been employed by the Corby family, visited Schapelle in prison earlier this month and says the former beauty student is "hanging on by a thread".
"She is lost in her own bewildering world where fantasy, hallucinations and bizarre ideas dominate her mind," he told New Idea magazine. Phillips, former president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, says the 32-year-old will continue to deteriorate unless she is moved.
"Even if Schapelle got really good medical treatment in jail, the place itself would destroy her, given her now precarious condition," he said.
The Corby family will send Phillips' 20-page report to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and other political leaders in hopes that it may pressure them to press for Corby's transfer.
Your comments:
There is a growing body of medical evidence to suggest that use of marijuana precipitates severe mental illness including all the symptoms claimed by this so-called expert. Could not her alleged symptoms be a result of her own drug abuse rather than the prison conditions? Oh, and let's not forget that imprisonment is intended to be unpleasant. Let this woman's sad experience be a warning to anyone bringing illegal drugs into this country.
David
Jakarta
Isn't it strange that the Australian press and popular opinion will lambast Indonesia for perceived failure to enforce the law, but when the guilty person is an Australian they cry foul and insist that s/he must be innocent and the Indonesian authorities are being too harsh? If these people had been caught smuggling marijuana into Malaysia or Singapore then the issue of remission would not arise.
David
Jakarta
Does 20 years fit the crime? No, absolutely not, but that is the law as it is written in this country. IMHO it is a pretty harsh law, especially when you consider you get less time for assault or rape, but that is how the law is written and how it was applied. Did the legal system fail Schapelle Corby?
Quite possibly so, but she was found guilty in a court of law, so it is a moot point to whine that she is innocent. She had her trial and her appeal was rejected.
There may be a lot of corruption in this country but with all of the international eyes on this case there was none here.
Yes, her health is failing; most people's health fails when they are in prison. Would it be wonderful of the Indonesian government to grant her clemency and let her go back to Australia? Sure it would.
But people need to stop pretending like this is all the government's fault. They are simply enforcing the laws the way they are written and the elected officials of this country write the laws the way they see best for the people. If you don't like it, don't bother coming.
Matt R
Jakarta
All the evidence shows that harsh drug laws simply don't work. Mexico has come to terms with this this week and has decriminalized various drugs, as has much of Europe.
The fact is that Malaysia, like Indonesia, is awash with drugs. Executing people or tossing them into a jail for 20 years makes no difference apart from criminalizing young people or destroying lives.
Education and control through community initiatives are far more valuable in controlling the problem.
The fact that a marijuana dealer, which I think any informed person agrees Corby is, is locked up for 20 years, plus the ignorant comments below about how ganja kills, show just how uninformed the drug debate in Indonesia really is. As long as we punish as we do, we will never make any headway.
Alan J
Denpasar
If Corby had gone quietly at the beginning and fessed up her partners (we know who they are) and worked out a deal, without screaming about innocence and the planting of contraband (illegal in all countries), she would have been out long ago. A very stupid woman, who will grow old in Kerobakan. Very sad.
Dave
Kuta, Bali
The rooting out of all parties bringing drugs into Indonesia is a must. The government must strictly apply the regulations for everybody attempting to smuggle drugs into Indonesia. Capturing Corby is a part of that, so thumbs up for the government.
Yon Riezky
Jakarta
