ID :
10877
Thu, 06/26/2008 - 11:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/10877
The shortlink copeid
I saved Corby from death penalty: Tampoe
(AAP) - Schapelle Corby's Australian former lawyer says the Corby family should be grateful to him for saving her from a death sentence.
Corby, 30, was convicted in 2005 for smuggling 4.2kg of marijuana in her boogie
board bag that was discovered at Bali's Denpasar airport.
She maintains her innocence but is serving a 20-year sentence in Bali's Kerobokan
prison.
A documentary aired on the Nine Network, Schapelle Corby: The Hidden Truth, revealed
a falling-out between Australian lawyer Robin Tampoe and the Corby family after the
sentence.
But on Nine's A Current Affair on Wednesday, Mr Tampoe said Corby could have been
put to death for her crime and declared he felt no sense of responsibility for the
Corby family's belief Schapelle would be released.
"Look, I don't feel responsible. I think, at the end of the day, I would feel
responsible if we failed in terms of protecting her against the death penalty," he
said.
When asked if he had been out of his depth in handling such a big case, Mr Tampoe
said: "No. I think you can see from the result. We worked very hard with what we
had, and we put forward a positive defence."
Other lawyers had tried and failed to reduce Corby's sentence, he said.
The Corby's and Mr Tampoe fell out almost immediately after the sentence, the
documentary said, with Corby's mother Rosleigh Rose expressing hatred for the legal
team.
Mr Tampoe said he invented Corby's defence that the marijuana was placed in her bag
by a corrupt Australian baggage handler and described the family as "the biggest
pile of trash I have ever come across in my life".
"I gave you a defence. I'll take it away. As fast as I gave it, I'll take it away,"
he said of the family the day after the sentence.
Corby's final legal challenge failed in March, when Indonesia's Supreme Court upheld
her 20-year sentence.
An appeal for clemency to Indonesia's president is Corby's last legal option, but it
means she would have to admit guilt.
Her hopes of being released from prison have relied on the outcome of long-running
negotiations between Indonesia and Australia over a prisoner transfer deal.
Corby was hospitalised last Friday afternoon suffering severe depression. Mr Tampoe no longer practises law. He works overseas as a business consultant, but Schapelle's sister Mercedes Corby has complained to the Queensland Law Society about Mr Tampoe's conduct.
Corby, 30, was convicted in 2005 for smuggling 4.2kg of marijuana in her boogie
board bag that was discovered at Bali's Denpasar airport.
She maintains her innocence but is serving a 20-year sentence in Bali's Kerobokan
prison.
A documentary aired on the Nine Network, Schapelle Corby: The Hidden Truth, revealed
a falling-out between Australian lawyer Robin Tampoe and the Corby family after the
sentence.
But on Nine's A Current Affair on Wednesday, Mr Tampoe said Corby could have been
put to death for her crime and declared he felt no sense of responsibility for the
Corby family's belief Schapelle would be released.
"Look, I don't feel responsible. I think, at the end of the day, I would feel
responsible if we failed in terms of protecting her against the death penalty," he
said.
When asked if he had been out of his depth in handling such a big case, Mr Tampoe
said: "No. I think you can see from the result. We worked very hard with what we
had, and we put forward a positive defence."
Other lawyers had tried and failed to reduce Corby's sentence, he said.
The Corby's and Mr Tampoe fell out almost immediately after the sentence, the
documentary said, with Corby's mother Rosleigh Rose expressing hatred for the legal
team.
Mr Tampoe said he invented Corby's defence that the marijuana was placed in her bag
by a corrupt Australian baggage handler and described the family as "the biggest
pile of trash I have ever come across in my life".
"I gave you a defence. I'll take it away. As fast as I gave it, I'll take it away,"
he said of the family the day after the sentence.
Corby's final legal challenge failed in March, when Indonesia's Supreme Court upheld
her 20-year sentence.
An appeal for clemency to Indonesia's president is Corby's last legal option, but it
means she would have to admit guilt.
Her hopes of being released from prison have relied on the outcome of long-running
negotiations between Indonesia and Australia over a prisoner transfer deal.
Corby was hospitalised last Friday afternoon suffering severe depression. Mr Tampoe no longer practises law. He works overseas as a business consultant, but Schapelle's sister Mercedes Corby has complained to the Queensland Law Society about Mr Tampoe's conduct.
