Mercy Campaign
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News update 19 July, 2011
We want to thank everyone for your overwhelming support over the past couple of days since we launched the campaign on Sunday 17 July 2011.
Since then we have received a really encouraging amount of support with 2000+ likes on facebook over 2000 signatures on our petition in a little over 48 hours!
We've also been reported in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and some interviews on ABC radio and Sydney's 2GB.
This is a great start to our campaign. We are still planning lots of interesting and engaging developments to help spread the word about Myuran and Andrew's bid for clemency.
In the meantime, keep watching watch this space, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, Digg us and spread the word to your friends/family/colleagues (there's a pro forma letter in the Get Involved page), and if you haven't already, please sign the petition.
Most importantly, thanks again for your support.
P.S. We received this moving letter from a supporter and we want to share it with you. Please feel free to send us your support in any form, be it video, written, typed or drawn.
I do not know either Andrew Chan or Myuran Sukumaran.
I do not support a death penalty.
In March last year I wrote to then Prime Minister Mr Rudd, via his on-line contact site, regarding Scott Rush. I did not get any response at all.
I lost my youngest son in January 2010 through an accident. The effect of his death is devastating for each member of my family.
To execute someone punishes not only the the person but the entire family.
The families of these men are not guilty of a crime. They do not deserve to be punished in such a cruel way.
I hope your campaign succeeds
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A message from Julian McMahon
Dear Reader,
Thankyou for paying attention to this case.
In about 12 months, unless clemency is granted, Myuran and Andrew will be taken out and shot dead.
There is no doubt they are both guilty of a serious crime, attempting to export heroin from Indonesia to Australia. The only issue now in this case is whether they should spend decades in jail, or be shot. Their lawyers argue that decades in jail is punishment enough for their crime.
Myuran and Andrew have been in jail since April 2005. For the first couple of years, they did nothing very praiseworthy. Then, with the help of family and friends, they began to mature, they retained new lawyers in both Indonesia and Australia, and started the long process of reforming and rehabilitating. They are now fantastically impressive. They have rehabilitated themselves and spend their time helping other prisoners, and for Andrew also being in chapel. Through a lot of hard work they have set up classes in computers, art and other courses to re-educate and help other prisoners. It is a rare privilege to watch the disadvantaged prisoners embark on education in such a setting, and earn certificates for later job opportunities.
In their final appeal, in November 2010, Myuran and Andrew spoke in Indonesian directly to the Court. They sincerely and deeply apologised, admitted their guilt, and spoke of their work in helping other prisoners. The Governor of the prison, Siswanto, also came and urged the Court to spare them, because of the good work and influence they now brought to the prison. In mid 2011, the appeal was lost. The reasons have not been published.
The only way they can now be saved is if the President of Indonesia grants them clemency. Indonesian law requires the President to consider every such death penalty case. Our argument is essentially that rehabilitated prisoners who work and rehabilitate others deserve some mercy, deserve a long jail sentence instead of execution. Such rehabilitation is the best result a prison can deliver – it shouldn’t end in execution.
Some people, however, argue “That is the law in Indonesia, the criminals should die, we shouldn’t interfere”. But the Indonesians themselves reject that argument. The Indonesian government now fights hard to save its own citizens on death row, in places such as Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. We strongly support those efforts. If we can help in those cases, we will.
How can you help? You can be a respectful, courteous, clear thinking, courageous person and involve yourself in the Mercy campaign. The Mercy campaign is run by a wonderful group of young people who want to convert the death sentence in this case to a jail sentence. Please consider their website carefully.
Yours sincerely,
Julian McMahon on behalf of the Melbourne legal team.