# Schapelle Corby verdict handed down **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 27, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729 "2005-05-27T05:27:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/1 "2005-05-27T05:27:17Z")
Schapelle Corby has been found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in jail. She has until next Wednesday to decide whether to appeal against the verdict. [Link.](http://www.smh.com.au/) That’s a time-sensitive link, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/2 "2005-05-27T05:46:02Z")
Big fat who cares? No, seriously, I agree with Hynch: she’s no different than the 15+ other ex tourists in Bali jails with much worse sentences than hers (like, I dunno, death) except she’s young and cute so headline newsworthy. I also think the way channel 9 handled the live verdict like a reality show, complete with serious looking graphics and slow motion replays of her breaking down after the sentence was surreally disgraceful. It was like something out of a bad parody of a news show. ---
**Author:** ![La\_Llorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@La\_Llorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/La_Llorona)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/3 "2005-05-27T05:52:53Z")
Ouch. Is anyone else reminded of Bridget Jones? Except this kid isn’t going to get rescued by the loffly Mark Darcy… Thanks for the link, though. I keep forgetting about this case because I don’t think it’s nearly as heavily covered in…well, non-Australian places. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/4 "2005-05-27T05:57:10Z")
I don’t know whether she’s innocent or not but I thought the verdict was very predictable given the evidence against her. If the appeals process isn’t successful I’d say her best hope is to lie low, and wait for the inevitable transfer back to an Australian gaol. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/5 "2005-05-27T06:03:40Z")
I was under the impression that she was looking at the death sentence. So, to the extent that I care, I’m glad it’s only prison. ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/6 "2005-05-27T06:52:25Z")
I think she’d be ill-advised to lie low. I think she’d be better off kicking up a fuss and keeping herself into the news to keep up pressure on the Australian government to do something. This is a sad reflection on just how much our government cares about our citizens, especially when trade / military ties are at stake. Consider the other cases recently where our government has been incredibly lax about the rights of its citizens: - [Mamdouh Habib](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamdouh_Habib) - [David Hicks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hicks) - [Cornelia Rau](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelia_Rau) - [Vivian Solon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Alvarez_Solon) - [The Bali Nine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali_Nine) ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/7 "2005-05-27T07:25:04Z")
> [@Atticus Finch](#): > > I think she’d be ill-advised to lie low. I think she’d be better off kicking up a fuss and keeping herself into the news to keep up pressure on the Australian government to do something. :dubious: What can the government do? Fair trial or not she’s broken the law in another country, and furthermore one that we have in Australia too, albiet with much more lenient sentencing. They haven’t done anything for other, lower profile, uglier Australians who have been found guilty of similiar crimes in Indonesia. Her best bet would definately be to lay low. I think if anything the news furor here has been to her disadvantage. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/8 "2005-05-27T07:27:04Z")
> [@Atticus Finch](#): > > - [The Bali Nine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali_Nine) You’re upset cause THESE guys got caught? They were trafficking heroin, for christ’s sake! There’s no ambiguity there, and they knew the risks when they tried it. Fuck 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/9 "2005-05-27T10:09:49Z")
I agree totally with SilentGoldfish. For some reason, this lady has been touted as a ‘beauty queen’ and given all the sympathy in the world by the media. Taking one step back, it is difficult to see how she could have been acquitted. I doubt whether I would have attracted as much media attention if I was in that position. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/10 "2005-05-27T10:43:59Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I don’t know whether she’s innocent or not but I thought the verdict was very predictable given the evidence against her. If the appeals process isn’t successful I’d say her best hope is to lie low, and wait for the inevitable transfer back to an Australian gaol. What’s a gaol? Does it involve wallabies? ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/11 "2005-05-27T10:53:11Z")
gaol=jail It’s because she is young and white and not unattractive–stirs up the protectvie instincts in people (some people). Don’t mess with shit in another country… ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/12 "2005-05-27T12:20:46Z")
check your bags. Understand the laws of the country you’re going to. Why the fuck didn’t she just bribe her way out when the shit hit the fan??? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/13 "2005-05-27T15:31:20Z")
I don’t know if she’s guilty or innocent. However, there is evidence which leads to serious doubts about her guilt. It also worries me that her judge has never found anyone not guilty: if a judge is always going to accept the prosecution case, why have judges? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/14 "2005-05-27T15:54:44Z")
Wow…just, wow. My thoughts as I read the first bits of the article (having never heard word one of this person or this case before): “Hmmm…20 year sentence…prosecutor pissed that it’s not life…huh…guess she killed someone”. Ummm, she had a few bricks of _pot_ on her? And for this, you want her to go to prison for life? Mr. Prosecutor, kindly shove it up your ass.\*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\* unless, of course, there are some extenuating circumstances that I’m not aware of. ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/15 "2005-05-27T16:49:52Z")
> [@Hal Briston](#): > > Ummm, she had a few bricks of _pot_ on her? And for this, you want her to go to prison for life? Mr. Prosecutor, kindly shove it up your ass.[/SIZE] About 10 pounds of pot. Not some inconsequential amount. I don’t know the details here – this thread is the first I’ve heard of this case – but I’ve been to Bali, and the ‘authorities’ there are really into their authority. Wasn’t 20 years for pot a fairly common sentence in Texas, not that long ago? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/16 "2005-05-27T20:59:58Z")
Yeah, but her defense was that she didn’t put it in her bag. The theory was that baggage handlers have been smuggling drugs by means of putting them in luggage after passengers surrender them, then, at the destination point, removing the stuff before sending the baggage to the carousel. In Corby’s case, someone must have dropped the ball, and her bag went on to the carousel with the ten pounds of weed still in it. And I’m inclined to believe that; who would put that much weed, or any amount, really, right on top of a bag full of surfing gear? Or has the baggage-handler theory already been disproven? ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/17 "2005-05-27T22:16:15Z")
I’m pretty much anti-incarceration for drug related crimes. And I’m not a believer in the death sentence under any circumstances. But, from what I’ve heard here on US television, she is lucky to receive only 20 years. It makes no sense to me, but then again, our laws probably make even less sense to other parts of the world, so I can’t really pass judgement on the judgement. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/18 "2005-05-27T22:40:54Z")
> [@beckwall](#): > > I’m pretty much anti-incarceration for drug related crimes. And I’m not a believer in the death sentence under any circumstances. But, from what I’ve heard here on US television, she is lucky to receive only 20 years. It makes no sense to me, but then again, our laws probably make even less sense to other parts of the world, so I can’t really pass judgement on the judgement. Sure you can. It’s utter fucking bullshit, and the law is inhumanly draconian. I sincerely doubt she had anything to do with the crime at all, based on the “how fucking stupid would she have to be?” defense. This is a massive miscarriage of justice, and Australian authorities should seriously consider a Special Forces extraction mission. Fuck Bali and their insane “system” of jurisprudence. ---
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/19 "2005-05-28T01:49:58Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > It’s because she is young and white and not unattractive–stirs up the protectvie instincts in people (some people). So was Lindy Chamberlain, and it didn’t work for her. **Atticus Finch** , as per usual, I am entirely in agreement with you. Also, I can’t quite understand precisely why [Abu Bakar Bashir](http://www9.sbs.com.au/theworldnews/region.php?id=111779®ion=2) was sentenced to 30 months in jail for conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism that resulted in mass-murder, but Corby gets 20 years for smuggling 4 kilos of marijuana into the country. I’m inclined to believe in the theory which holds that someone put the stuff into her bag at Brisbane, with the intention of intercepting it and retrieving it at Sydney Airport, and no-one was able to retrieve the pot before her luggage was loaded on the plane to Denpasar. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729/20 "2005-05-28T03:16:04Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > Big fat who cares? No, seriously, I agree with Hynch: she’s no different than the 15+ other ex tourists in Bali jails with much worse sentences than hers (like, I dunno, death) except she’s young and cute so headline newsworthy. Are you kidding? 20 years for marijuana? That is way over the top. They have been much more lenient on the mass murdering Bali bombers than they have have on this very dubious case of drug trafficking. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schapelle-corby-verdict-handed-down/305729.md?page=2)