Schapelle Corby - Guilty Until Proven Innocent.

The Schapelle Corby case highlights a disturbing distinction between ‘Eastern” and “Western” court procedure. The principle of innocent until proven guilty appears to be an exclusively “western” protocol with the Indonesian courts adopting the diametrically opposite position. Schapelle Corby’s legal team is apparently having to remove any shadow of a doubt that Schapelle was unaware of the presence of drugs in her luggage to avoid her receiving the death penalty, let alone be acquitted of the crime.

The evidence that suggests the existence of a drug smuggling racket operating between Brisbane and Sydney airport is compelling. The suggestion that Schappelle is the unwitting victim of a mistake in that operation is highly plausible if not evidential. In Australia the onus would be on the prosecution to prove the intention to smuggle, in Indonesia it appears to rest wholly and solely on the defence to prove that no intention exists.

I cannot contemplate this case without considering the place of Christ’s grace in our court proceedings. The principle of innocent until proven guilty is a Christian one, reflecting the potential for hope, if not forgiveness, for the accused. The principle of guilty until proven innocent has no foundation in Christian ethics, morality or practice. Providing little hope, and no potential for forgiveness.

I don’t know on what cultural precepts the Indonesian/Balinese court system is based, but the photo in yesterdays Bulletin of Schapelle being escorted from the court by a court official held out little hope for her. The photo included the shoulder badge of the official; depicting the scales of justice balanced upon the point of a sword. Suggesting, perhaps, that no matter which way the scales tip, the sword will claim it’s victim.