THE father of Bali nine drug smuggler Renae Lawrence has labelled Indonesian President Joko Widodo ‘‘heartless’’ to allow the executions of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukamaran.
Speaking from his Newcastle home on Tuesday morning, an emotional Bob Lawrence said his heart went out to ‘‘the boys’’ and their families.
‘‘I just can’t see the sense in killing them, there is absolutely no gain,’’ he said.
‘‘Seeing the families on the television and the heartbreak they are going through, I really don’t know how they have been able to handle it. You wouldn’t wish it on anyone.’’
The only woman in the gang, Lawrence, is serving 20 years for attempting to smuggle heroin to Australia in 2005.
She and three fellow mules all testified of being threatened with death if they refused to smuggle the drugs.
Despite not being a ‘‘great fan’’ of Chan and Sukamaran because of their role in ‘‘standing over’’ the drug mules, Mr Lawrence said he believed they had been rehabilitated.
He said Renae was ‘‘extremely upset’’ by their plight and wished them ‘‘absolutely no harm’’.
‘‘She wanted to get in contact with them before they left for the island, but she was lost on what to say,’’ he said.
‘‘I think it would be fair to say they are not friends, but she certainly never wished them any harm.’’
Mr Lawrence urged any Australians supporting the death penalty to consider their own past and mistakes they had made.
He said while the men deserved to be punished, they didn’t deserve to ‘‘pay with their lives’’.
‘‘I don’t know anyone who is innocent of doing something wrong. I don’t think anyone can claim to be a saint, especially when they were young and terribly stupid,’’ he said.
‘‘They have served ten years and by all accounts have reformed. Now their reward for that is a bullet. It’s just horribly harsh.’’
It was a total shock to the Lawrence family when they learnt Renae had been arrested in Bali over a plot to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin, worth around $4 million.
The case has cost the family more than $300,000.
Mr Lawrence said his 37-year-old daughter was eligible for parole, but had no-one in Indonesia to live with.
‘‘We are broke and she would need someone to stay with in Indonesia when she was on parole,’’ he said.
‘‘She opted to just serve the time which means she could be out in five years, if she took the parole option it would be about eight years.’’
Mr Lawrence said he believed the Australian government could have done more to save Chan and Sukamaran.
‘‘Julie Bishop has done a good job, but she should have gone to Indonesia to make her case in person,’’ he said.
‘‘Everything possible should have been done. ’’
