Death row gran saddened by 'senseless and brutal' Bali Nine executions
A British grandmother on death row said the 'senseless and brutal' execution of her good friends, the Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, has left the world a poorer place.
Lindsay Sandiford, 58, was sentenced to death in 2013 for importing 4.8kg of cocaine into Bali.
Sandiford, who struck up a friendship with fellow Kerobokan inmates Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, said she was devastated by the murders of two people who had 'touched the lives of a great many people' and helped her through some of the most difficult times behind bars.
In a statement, Sandiford said: “I am deeply saddened to learn that Myuran Sukumaran and my dear friend Andrew Chan have been executed.
“Many things have been said about whether Andrew and Myuran deserved to die for their crimes.
“I didn’t know those men at the time they committed those crimes 10 years ago.
"What I can say is that the Andrew and Myuran I knew were men who did good and touched the lives of a great many people, including myself.”
Chan, who married his fiancé Febyanti Herewila just hours before he was put to death, had written to Sandiford three times since being transferred to the so-called death island, The Mirror reports.
In the letters, the 31-year-old said he was scared of the bullets and feared the execution would not be quick.
Sandiford described Chan as a 'close friend and a confidante' who had counselled and helped her through some incredibly difficult times after she was sentenced to death in 2013.
“Myu and Andrew used their time in Kerobokan to make life better for everyone around them. They introduced the concept of rehabilitation to a prison that never had it before," she said.
“They organised painting classes, cookery classes and computer classes, and gave practical help to make sure the poorest prisoners had food, clothing and essentials.
“Whoever they were and wherever they were from, they made sure inmates who were sick got access to health care and hospital services which are not covered by the prison budget.
“The men shot dead today were reformed men – good men who transformed the lives of people around them. Their senseless, brutal deaths leave the world a poorer place.”
Yesterday, Sandiford reportedly told a friend she just 'wanted to get it over with' after learning the Bali Nine pair and other convicted drug smugglers would face the firing squad.
"If they kill someone as good as Andrew, what hope is there for me," she told a friend.
"I just want to get it over with, I feel like giving up."
Myuran and Chan were killed alongside six other drug felons at Besi prison on Nusakambangan Island in the early hours of Wednesday morning after spending 10 years on death row.
Prosecutors had argued Sandiford should be sentenced to 17 years behind bars after co-operation with police to arrest those the drugs were destined for - three British nationals who received far lighter punishment.
The mother of two, who had no previous criminal offences and a background as a legal clerk in England, has always insisted she was forced into the operation by a drug gang who threatened her sons.
The British Government has refused to fund Sandiford's legal appeal and a Facebook page set up to try and raise the much-needed cash has accrued just 700.
