Corby family fears for Schapelle's sanity

Whether one think's Schapelle Corby is guilty or not, surely it's time for compassion. She has now spent over five years in an Indonesian jail.

Yes, there are many people rotting in jails around the world in appalling conditions, but if we can only help one at a time, is it not better than none?

The following is a report published by The Daily Telegraph in Australia.

Corby family fears for Schapelle's sanity after so long in jail
By Joe Hildebrand From: The Daily Telegraph July 22, 2009 10:36PM

Corby moved as health worsens

DRUG smuggler Schapelle Corby is so traumatised by her time in jail that she has lost all touch with reality and sometimes even thinks she can walk out any time.

Her condition has so shocked her family that they are begging the Australian Government to send a psychiatrist to Bali to assess her and try to bring her back home for medical care.

Corby's uncle Shaun Hatton has approached broadcaster Alan Jones to put pressure on the Government, while sister Mercedes is understood to be making requests via the official channels.

Mr Hatton said that when he visited Corby last month in a Bali hospital she sat on the floor for an hour and a half, saying nothing and holding a child's toy.
"She goes in and out of lucidity - she's not lucid," he said.
"At one stage she sat on the floor with my daughter's stuffed frog that plays tunes and she was there holding it for 90 minutes without moving."

Mr Hatton said he visited Corby for four or five hours a day for the three days he was there and did not see a doctor the entire time.
She would slip into delusional states in which she would think she could just walk out of custody.
"She thinks she can hop up and go, she'd just start to get ready. She'd change her clothes and say 'let's go'," he said.
"And we'd have to say, 'No Schapelle, you can't'."

Mr Hatton, a Darwin real estate agent, said Corby still maintained her innocence and lived in hope that new evidence would emerge.
"Every day she thinks the nightmare's going to finish. Now she's not thinking lucidly at all," he said.
"She will not admit guilt because she's not guilty."

Mr Hatton said she was in desperate need of medical assessment and care from Australia.
"She's just got to be brought back," he said.

Mr Hatton said she shared a cell with nine others at Kerobokan jail, where she has been returned to serve out her 20-year sentence.

Please visit http://www.schapelle.net/ to see how you can help.

Shapelle Corby a huge case of injustice

On the 8th of October 2004, a 27 year-old Australian tourist, Schapelle Corby, was arrested at Bali Airport when 9 pounds (4.2 kg ) of marijuana was discovered in her luggage.

Corby is currently serving a 20-year sentence. She was convicted and sentenced in Bali on 27 May 2005 and is serving her sentence in Kerobokan Prison, Bali. On appeal, her conviction and sentence were confirmed with finality by the Indonesian Supreme Court. No further legal manoeuvres on her part are possible; she may petition for clemency from Indonesia's president, but in doing so, would have to admit guilt.

Schapelle has maintained from the time of her arrest that the drugs were planted in her boogie board bag and that she had no knowledge of them. Her trial and conviction were a major focus of attention for the Australian and Indonesia media. Her due release date, with remissions, is currently 12 April 2024.

Having spent time in jail myself, and having listened to numerous “I’m innocent stories” from other inmates. I was at first sceptical of her claim.

However, after reading her book, I believe her.

What do you think?