Schapelle Corby, aka Australia’s Ganja Queen, is having an awful time serving out her 20-year sentence for drug smuggling. There may be good news for her supporters: an Indonesian supreme court judge has recommended a sentence reduction.
[Updated below] Australia’s most famous smuggler has apparently gone batty. Unlike a lot of people, I don’t think Schapelle Corby is entirely innocent — but I wouldn’t say that she’s entirely guilty, either. Still, I can’t help but feel bad for her. From News.com.au: SCHAPELLE Corby’s family has renewed its fight to have the convicted drug [...]
When Samantha Orobator was arrested carrying 1.5 pounds of heroin in a Laotian airport, she was immediately thrown into that country’s worst prison. There, she became mysteriously pregnant. And though she was spared the death penalty, she was handed a life sentence. Yesterday brought news of another kick in the nuts: a $72,000 fine for [...]
Despite heavy losses a few weeks ago, the Philippines’ Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is still waging war in that country’s southern region. This time, they attacked a prison in North Cotabato, hoping to free “high-value government targets.” From PhilStar: Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, Army 6th Infantry Division spokesman, said the MILF rebels engaged prison guards [...]
I don’t usually feel sympathy for drug smugglers, but Samantha Orobator’s case is awful. In August, 2008, the 20-year-old south Londoner was caught at the Vientiane airport with 1 1/2 pounds of heroin. Six months later, without having left police custody, she was five months’ pregnant. Naturally, Lao authorities then accused Orobator of intentionally getting [...]
Between Intervention and Locked Up Abroad (my two favorite shows), it’s a wonder anyone ever touches drugs. And yet, they do. Case in point: a British teenager was caught smuggling coke out of Bolivia. It isn’t the seemingly harsh sentence that caught my eye (49 years). It isn’t the standard-issue “I’m a slutty twat” Facebook [...]
If you happen to be visiting a Dutch prison this week, be sure to hit the can. There’s a fortune waiting for you on ebay if you can swipe some of this limited-edition toilet paper: Specially-printed toilet paper printed with information on safe sex, hygiene and dealing with aggression will be distributed in Dutch prisons. [...]
My new favorite show is National Geographic’s Locked Up Abroad, but only when the subject are would-be drug dealers who should’ve known better. You know, greedy idiots who get nabbed at customs with three kilos of coke stuffed down their pants. As a hedonist who refuses to cross any international border with drugs, I’ve no [...]
