A British grandmother awaiting execution by firing squad in Bali has issued a chilling final wish.
Lindsay Sandiford, a former legal secretary from Redcar, was arrested in May 2012 after arriving in Bali from Bangkok. Authorities found £1.6 million ($2.1 million) worth of cocaine in her suitcase – and she's spent more than a decade awaiting execution ever since.
Indonesia’s drug laws are among the strictest in the world. Trafficking offences are often punished by execution, typically by firing squad.
Convicted individuals are taken to a field, offered the choice to sit or stand, and shot by a line of armed soldiers aiming for the heart. If the prisoner survives the initial volley, the commander is required to deliver a final shot to the head.
Although executions are rare, the threat is very real. Indonesia last carried out executions in 2015, but over 130 people (both Indonesian nationals and foreign citizens) are currently on death row.
At the time of her arrest, Sandiford claimed she had been coerced by a criminal gang who had threatened her family, The Guardian reported at the time.
However, her story changed during police questioning. Facing the possibility of a death sentence, she admitted to being recruited by Julian Ponder, a British antiques dealer living in Bali, and his partner, Rachel Dougall. Sandiford later participated in a police sting operation that led to the arrest of Ponder and another man, Paul Beales.
Dougall and Beales were not charged with trafficking. Dougall was sentenced to one year in prison for failing to report a crime, while Beales received four years for possession of hashish. Ponder was convicted of narcotics possession and served six years in prison. Sandiford, despite cooperating with police, was charged with trafficking and ultimately sentenced to death.
Her defence team argued she had been forced into smuggling and was suffering from mental health issues. Even the prosecution had requested a 15-year sentence rather than execution. But the panel of judges imposed the death penalty in January 2013.
Unable to afford a lawyer, Sandiford relied on a fundraising campaign to bring an Indonesian lawyer to Bali for her appeal, which was ultimately rejected. A final appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court was also unsuccessful.
Since then, she has been held in Kerobokan Prison, a facility originally built for 300 inmates but now holding more than 1,400, according to the Daily Mail. Riots and violence are reported to be common. Sandiford has spent her time knitting items to sell in support of her legal efforts and has taught the skill to fellow inmates.
Heather Mack, an American who served a 10-year sentence in the same prison for the murder of her mother, described Sandiford as becoming increasingly isolated. "I am friends with Lindsay but she has been difficult to speak to recently," Mack said, per The Mirror. "She spends all day pretty much alone in her cell and doesn't mix so much with the other prisoners. She snaps at me for no reason but I still make an effort with her."
Mack also recounted the moment Sandiford witnessed two fellow inmates being taken away to be executed. "They had turned their lives around and were different people to when they were convicted, so everyone thought they would be OK," Mack said. "But when Lindsay witnessed them being taken away to face death, she realised that her own end was nearing. That's when the stark reality set in."
Sandiford has since spoken openly about her state of mind and her acceptance of what may come. "It won't be a hard thing for me to face anymore," she told Mack. "I might not have chosen this kind of end, but then again, dying in agony from cancer isn’t exactly appealing either. I do feel I can cope with it. But when it happens I don't want my family to come. I don't want any fuss at all. The one thing certain about life is no one gets out alive."
Despite her situation, she has expressed gratitude for having lived to see her children grow up and to meet her grandchildren. Her chilling final wish? "My attitude is 'If you want to shoot me, shoot me. Get on with it'," she said.
Sandiford’s story is a stark reminder of the high stakes faced by foreigners accused of drug trafficking in Indonesia.