Bali Nine members declare their innocence

Three members of the Bali Nine appeared in Denpasar District court today and declared their innocence. Si Yi Chen, Matthew Norman and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen have not been convicted yet but are odds on to go to the ‘big house’ in Kerobokan for a long time.

All three are assured the prosecution will not ask for the death penalty, but made a final statement of their innocence. Personally I feel sorry for these guys. We all do silly things, we all screw up and all have moments of bad judgment. For a 20 year old to lose even 10 years is a sad thing, when you consider the years 20-30 are some of the most valuable in terms of learning, growing, experiencing and also for forming relationships. The idea of these young guys coming out of jail middle aged, or not at all isn’t pleasant.

On the other side of the coin, today’s statement was rather pathetic. Si Yi Chen said “I believe I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Well that would have to be the most unfortunate thing I’ve ever heard. Fancy being on holiday, enjoy the weather, culture, nightlife etc. when suddenly you are in a hotel room with strangers, one of whom is threatening to kill everybody, and then the cops arrive and bust you.

That plea is going nowhere. Might as well say you are a drug dealing monkey, but your sorry about it. Anyway, these guys are human, they are not the worst people in the world and I hope they do catch a break somewhere down the line.