Remaining Hopeful

After an over dramatic media circus on Friday, Schapelle and her defense team were told that they had won a 10 day delay in their appeal so that they may gain access to CCTV videos of the baggage handling area in Brisbane where her bags were originally checked before being shipped to Sydney and onwards to Bali. It is the hope of her defense team that by gaining access to these videos they may be able to pinpoint where and how the drugs came to be in her bag.

However within hours of this news being announced, Chris Ellison, the Minister of Justice and Customs in Australia quickly announced that these videos no longer exist. It is being said that the tapes were wiped on November 4, 2004.

I find it very sketchy that Mr Ellison can make claims that he is certain that the tapes were in proper working order following claims they were tampered with several times during the fall of 2004. We later found out that there was an internal drug ring operating within the airports during this time. How can Mr Ellison be so certain that these tapes were working properly if they have been destroyed? And if it is true that they are no longer in existance then my question is why in the world would they allow the tape from October 8th to be destroyed knowing that it could potentially be crucial evidence for one of their own citizens??

I am not certain that the tapes will mysteriously surface, but I remain hopeful that the hearts and minds of the judges are open enough to see the many faults in the prosecutions arguement which put Schapelle in jail for 20 years. I pray that the judges see the argument for reasonable doubt and that they acquit her.