GUILTY Bali - Sheila von Wiese Mack, 62, found dead in suitcase, 12 Aug 2014 #4

[Orange Tabby]

When the defense lawyers read their statements on the second day of the trial, there were three noteworthy things that they argued:

1. That the indictment was flawed because it read room 616 in a place where it should have read 317.

2. That the text message evidence was not reliable because it could have been manipulated and therefore should be thrown out.

3. The indictment was so imprecise that it permitted the interpretation that someone else could have committed the murder.

On day three of the trial, the prosecution responded. What puzzles and disappoints me about the few accounts we have of day three, is that none of those three defense points were specifically addressed in the press reports.

Did the prosecution amend the indictment to reflect the proper murder room?

Did the prosecution provide arguments defending the text message evidence?

Did the prosecution point out that Tommy’s own re-enactment statement specifically includes the fact that there weren’t others in the room and that he admits that he committed the murder?

Too bad there isn't more as well as better reporting on this case.

Monday should be interesting! And it's already Monday in Bali ...

 

[Orange Tabby]

Possible Decisions by the Panel of Judges

Today (Monday) the judges rule on the defense objections to the indictment. You’d think it would be relatively simple: they either rule for the prosecution or they rule for the defense.

But no. They have a third option: They don’t have to rule at all!

Really. The judges can postpone a ruling on the defense objection and make that ruling later, along with the merits of the case.

It also turns out that if the judges rule for the defense and throw out the case, the prosecution can appeal.

According to a summary of how Indonesian trials proceed, we have up to this point:

--Prosecution indictment
--Defense objection to indictment
--Prosecution response to defense objection
--Intermediate ruling of the judges on the defense objection

I’ve extracted below the relevant parts of a long document describing trial procedure in Indonesia, my source for the possible non-ruling by the judges. It was prepared by a law firm (I assume Indonesian), but I can’t vouch for its accuracy.

In my summary above, I’ve used more common words than those that appear in this document (e.g. objection rather than demurral, intermediate rather than interlocutory).

The material in bold and square brackets have been added by me, to link each element to the trial days we’ve already had and the one coming up today:

b. Letter of Indictment (Dakwaan) [Day one of trial]

The Panel of Judges will order the Prosecutor to read out the Prosecutor’s Letter of Indictment. After the reading out of the Letter of Indictment, the Panel of Judges will ask the Accused whether he fully understands the Letter of Indictment.

c. Demurral (Eksepsi) [Day two of trial]

The Accused is entitled to raise objections (demure) against the Prosecutor’s Letter of Indictment. This objection must be forwarded prior to examination of the merit/substance of the case. Legitimate reasons for such an objection, among others, are:

(I) The Court has no competence to adjudicate on the case;

(ii) The Letter of Indictment cannot be accepted;
(iii) The Letter of Indictment is void;

(iv) Change of Letter of Indictment.

d. Prosecutor’s Response to the Demurral [Day three of trial – last Wed.]

The Prosecutor must provide responses to the demurral of the Accused.

e. Interlocutory Judgment
 [Today]

The Panel of Judges shall then come to a judgment or decision on the demurral. The decision may be one of the following:

(I) Acceptance of the demurral; or 

(ii) Rejection of the demurral; or
(iii) Neither acceptance or rejection of the demurral, but a statement saying the matter of the demurral will be decided together with the merits of the case.

If the demurral concerns the voiding of the Letter of Indictment (and the Panel of Judges accepts this), then the examination of the case in the district court is deemed completed. The Public Prosecutor may challenge this Interlocutory Judgment by filing a challenge (Perlawanan/Verzet) to the High Court. [BBM]

If the Panel of Judges rejects or does not accept the demurral of the Accused, the Panel of Judges will then continue examining the case despite the challenge from the Accused. The District Court, however, shall terminate the examination of the case if the decision on the challenge has been issued in favour of the Accused.​

http://www.opentrial.org/lexpose-for-justice/indonesia/criminal-procedures

So today could be very interesting, possibly rather strange, indeed!

 

[Orange Tabby]

This possibility of a postponement of a ruling on the defense's objection to the indictment is contained in the Indonesian Code of Criminal Procedure, which you can read here:

http://iccdb.webfactional.com/documents/implementations/pdf/Indonesia-Code_of_criminal_procedure.pdf

It's article 156. A defendant can also appeal the judge's ruling to a higher court.

 

[nightwatch]

IMO all the defense claims are ridiculous, so correct the room number. Clerical errors are just that. And insinuating someone else killed Mrs Mack if that were the case why would TS and HM drag her body down to a cab. As for the texts LE has the phones even if deleted texts can be recovered. My concern is the bribery angle, when and were would that come into play?.

Case after case it is so frustrating constantly hoping the victim gets justice. Jmo

Watching Superbowl go Seahawks!

Well so much for the Seahawks. Lol
ciao

 

[Orange Tabby]

IMO all the defense claims are ridiculous, so correct the room number. Clerical errors are just that. And insinuating someone else killed Mrs Mack if that were the case why would TS and HM drag her body down to a cab. As for the texts LE has the phones even if deleted texts can be recovered. My concern is the bribery angle, when and were would that come into play?.

[SBM]

I think everyone here agrees the defense arguments are very poor. But because we don’t have good reporting on the prosecution’s response, it’s difficult to judge several things, including whether or not the trial is evidently dirty or clean, and whether the prosecution looks smart and prepared or are mediocre and disorganized.

For example, if we knew the prosecution did not formally amend their indictment, that would certainly point toward bribery or incompetence. Ditto, if they did not advance strong arguments in favor of the text message evidence.

That’s why I’m puzzled and annoyed at the reporting of that day of the trial. Knowing what the prosecution argued (and did not argue) is important information.

As for the phones, I don’t know if you were reading here on this board when we discussed some weeks ago what kinds of evidence the legal codes of Indonesia allow. There have been trials where vital phone evidence has been excluded, and there is no clear law which compels any judge to accept it. The judges could toss out the phones and all evidence associated with them. This could be put down to either legal conservatism or corruption.

The phone evidence is particularly important, in my view, because it is the best evidence against Heather.

 

[Orange Tabby]

It's well past three in the afternoon in Denpasar and not a word on today's proceedings.

As I was rambling around Australian news sources, I learned this terrible news:

The Indonesian government has confirmed that two convicted Australian drug smugglers are to be put to death in the next round of executions.

It is understood Prime Minister Tony Abbott pleaded with Indonesia to see if there was anything that could be done to save the lives of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

But Indonesia informed Australia that all options had been exhausted and the decision was made.

There has been no decision on when the executions would take place, but the pair could get as little as 72 hours' official notice of their execution.​

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-...group-to-face-indonesian-firing-squad/6063828

I had never heard of the Bali Nine before I started reading this thread. After reading the links others posted here, and watching several videos on YouTube, I've developed a lot of respect for how Chan and Sukumaran have turned their lives around. It is heartbreaking to think that Indonesia has achieved one of its goals -- rehabilitation -- yet wants to kill them anyway.

 

[Orange Tabby]

Defense Objections Rejected by Judges

The Associated Press reports that the three judges presiding over Heather's and Tommy's trials have rejected the defense objections to the indictment and that the trial will continue. The next session will be this Wednesday.

From the brief report:

A three-judge panel on Monday said the prosecutors' indictment was qualified according to the law, overruling defense objections that it contained inaccuracies.​

http://abcnews.go.com/International...s-us-couple-charged-murder-indonesia-28657793

 

[SouthAussie]

:skip: :skip: :skip:

An Indonesian court has decided to go ahead with the trial of an American couple charged with murdering the woman's mother.

A three-judge panel on Monday said the prosecutors' indictment was qualified according to the law, overruling defense objections that it contained inaccuracies.

The judges, led by Made Suweda, ordered prosecutors to start preparing for hearings that resume Wednesday.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/02/02/world/asia/ap-as-indonesia-us-woman-dead.html

 

[SouthAussie]

Heather Mack (front R), who is accused of premeditated murder of her mother, walks with her co-accused and boyfriend Tommy Schaefer (L) of the US to a vehicle at Kerobokan prison in Denpasar on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on February 2, 2015.

http://www.gettyimages.com.au/detai...emeditated-murder-of-her-news-photo/462645310

 

[Orange Tabby]

First photos from today's proceedings:

http://www.antaranews.com/foto/78679/sidang-pembunuhan-warga-as

According to Google Translate, in the photo where Heather is eating (fast food, it looks like) the two murderers are talking to an official from the U.S. consulate.

 

[Orange Tabby]

So far no one has anything but the AP story. However, it has been updated slightly, and now includes this:

"The indictment is fully qualified both formally and materially according to the law," said presiding judges Made Suweda. "Therefore, the defense objections are rejected."​

And since this update is in the Daily Mail, of course a few more pix.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap...e-charged-murder-Indonesia.html#ixzz3QaCMdSO1

 

[SouthAussie]

First photos from today's proceedings:

http://www.antaranews.com/foto/78679/sidang-pembunuhan-warga-as

According to Google Translate, in the photo where Heather is eating (fast food, it looks like) the two murderers are talking to an official from the U.S. consulate.

No ring? Or perhaps a different ring. Hard to tell. :waitasec:

 

[SouthAussie]

(O/T: Here is the segment from The Project tonight, about Andrew and Myuran - with family and friends visiting, the governor of the prison, and others. Not sure if it can be viewed on an overseas IP address - sometimes they can't - but thought I'd put it up in case anyone is interested.

Video: http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/the-project/extra/season-6/inside-kerobokan-prison
Partial transcript: http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/the-project/top-stories-february-2015/inside-kerobokan )

 

[Orange Tabby]

No ring? Or perhaps a different ring. Hard to tell.

I never got much interested in the ring business. But I was surprised that last week's Daily Mail story which described how Heather is supposed to have made the ring at Kerobokan didn't pique the interest of anyone on this thread. I would have liked to see some mocking commentary!

 

[Orange Tabby]

(O/T: Here is the segment from The Project tonight, about Andrew and Myuran - with family and friends visiting, the governor of the prison, and others. Not sure if it can be viewed on an overseas IP address - sometimes they can't - but thought I'd put it up in case anyone is interested.

Video: http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/the-project/extra/season-6/inside-kerobokan-prison
Transcript: http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/the-project/top-stories-february-2015/inside-kerobokan )

Thank you very, very much.

 

[Orange Tabby]

This is my favorite picture of the day so far.

She looks scared to me, as well as a little sad. And I’m sure the judges really appreciate that heapin’ helpin’ of lipstick.

BTW, is that guy’s official title The Only English Translator in the Entire Bali Court System? He seems to show up in all the pictures of English speaking criminals at trial.

 

[SouthAussie]

More pics at this link. And a clearer pic that shows that the ring is gone. Maybe she is going to quit pretending now? Their social mores should not affect the facts of the crime anyway.

And maybe she has decided to disassociate herself from the 'brutal murderer' of her mother ... and look a bit remorseful and sad.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2015/02/02/3618905_trial-proceeds-of-us-couple-charged.html?rh=1

 

[Orange Tabby]

Here's a 90-second video with some clips from the courtroom as well as the holding cells. It includes the top judge delivering his ruling as well as a close-up of Heather being hand-cuffed:

[video=youtube;xZF8psVaXbU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZF8psVaXbU[/video]

 

[SouthAussie]

Both defendants sat quietly as the decision to proceed with the trials was read out by judges. Unlike previous hearings, Schaefer didn't shed tears.

Heather Mack, 19, and her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, 21, both from Chicago, are being tried separately with the same judges and prosecutors.

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/wor...cle_37a6957a-af50-5cea-a66b-3be63cc976a9.html

 

[tarjessi]

:skip: :skip: :skip:

An Indonesian court has decided to go ahead with the trial of an American couple charged with murdering the woman's mother.

A three-judge panel on Monday said the prosecutors' indictment was qualified according to the law, overruling defense objections that it contained inaccuracies.

The judges, led by Made Suweda, ordered prosecutors to start preparing for hearings that resume Wednesday.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/02/02/world/asia/ap-as-indonesia-us-woman-dead.html

Oh awesome you found the news SouthAussie Yay! I am so glad that it will proceed and I have no doubt the 3 lot's of $50K released may be for bribes. They need to be shot for what they did to her mother and her baby taken away and adopted. She deserves nothing.