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Jessica puts last hope on Supreme Court after losing appeal
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Suspect Jessica Kumala Wongso is consoled by her lawyers after judges read the guilty verdict at the end of her trial at the Central Jakarta Court on Oct. 27, 2016. Jessica was sentenced by the judges to 20 years in prison for the premeditated murder of Wayan Mirna Salihin. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
T
he Supreme Court is murder convict Jessica Kumala Wongso's last resort to avoid a prison sentence of 20 years now that the Jakarta High Court has turned down her appeal.
Jessica’s lead counsel Otto Hasibuan said his client was frustrated over the court’s decision, which was read out in a hearing on March 7. He emphasized that, however, both Jessica and her legal team believed a “miracle” could still happen at the Supreme Court.
Otto said he was currently preparing a cassation dossier for Jessica’s case that he would file within the next two weeks. He said, however, he had not yet received the copy of the Jakarta High Court’s verdict.
“Definitely, we will file a cassation request. My experience has shown me it is very unlikely for us to get good results in a high court, so I did not put a lot of hope on my client’s trial at that court,” Otto said as quoted by tribunnews.com.
On Oct. 27, the Central Jakarta District Court’s judge panel declared Jessica guilty of murdering her friend, Wayan Mirna Salihin. The ruling was controversial because of a lack of evidence from eyewitnesses that could prove Jessica put cyanide into Mirna’s coffee when they shared a table at the Olivier Café in Central Jakarta on Jan. 6.
Judge Partahi Tulus Hutapea said the judges’ decision to use circumstantial evidence to determine Jessica's guilty was legitimate due to the fact it was Jessica who had ordered the Vietnamese iced coffee and she was the only one who had access to the coffee before Mirna drank it. (idb/ebf)
