A British grandmother awaiting her brutal execution in an Indonesian prison has found a way to keep her mind occupied under hellish circumstances.
Lindsay Sandiford, from Redcar, North Yorkshire, has spent 11 gruelling years on death row at the notorious Kerobokan Prison in Bali - known locally as Hotel K - but now finally has hope of a reprieve, following changes to the law.
The 67-year-old was caught with a £1.6 million haul of cocaine in her suitcase, while flying into Bali from Bangkok. Despite co-operating with police to capture those higher up the chain of command, Sandiford was sentenced to death by firing squad, under Indonesia's strict drug trafficking laws.
With this violent execution method, prisoners choose to either sit or stand as armed soldiers shoot at them, aiming for the heart. Those who survive are shot in the head by the commanding officer. Former legal secretary Sandiford now spends her days In a gloomy five metres-by-five-metres cell with four other women - with one pastime, in particular, helping her to focus on something other than her nightmarish fate.
Although Sandiford's future initially looked bleak, new legislation introduced in January could see the cocaine gran dodge the firing squad. After years of living in fear, Sandiford's death sentence could be converted into a life prison term given that she has managed more than 10 years’ good behaviour behind bars.
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The 67-year-old faces death by firing squad (AFP/Getty Images)Sandiford whiles away the long hours by knitting items, which she has previously sold to raise money for her failed legal appeals, and she even teaches her cellmates how to master the craft. It's previously been reported that Sandiford has been able to teach 20 fellow inmates to knit teddy bears, jumpers, shawls, and other homemade items, which they then donate to church groups in Australia.
Sandiford even managed to set up a knitting venture to fund her appeal against the death penalty - raising £7,000 on top of the £30,000 donated by supporters on the outside.
Sandiford's cellmate has described her as the 'grandmother of the prison' (Humphrey Nemar /daily mirror)In an exclusive interview with the Mirror this week, Sandiford's cellmate said: “She is the grandmother of the prison, the Queen. She is the only one who can order steak from the prison cafe. She has it medium-rare, normally once a week.
"Everyone loves her, she teaches people how to knit, she hosts regular classes, and shows them how to look after themselves. No date has been set for the execution. She is scared of dying but she has accepted it.”
Items knitted by Sandiford have been donated to churches in Australia (Gloucestershire Live)
Sandiford is said to have become withdrawn as her sentence dragged on (PA)In 2019, Sandiford's fellow inmate Heather Mack - who in 2014 murdered her socialite mother Sheila von Wiese-Mackat a high-end Bali resort before stuffing her body in a suitcase - told the Mirror that the locked-up Brit had become more reclusive as the years dragged on.
The so-called 'Suitcase Killer', who is originally from the US shared: “I am friends with Lindsay but she has been difficult to speak to recently. 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. She has said she wants to die.”
Sandiford and her prison class make everything from jumpers to teddy bears (Newcastle Chronicle)Mack went on to recall how Lindsay appeared visibly upset and shocked after two other prisoners convicted of drug offences were taken away suddenly for execution. She continued: "They had turned their lives around and were different people to when they were convicted, so everyone thought they would be OK.
"When Lindsay saw that even they could be taken away and killed, she knew it would be happening to her. That's when it really, really hit home for her."
The incarcerated grandmother has previously sold knitted items to fund her appeal (AFP/Getty Images)
She's managed to teach 20 other inmates how to knit (AFP via Getty Images)Following her 2012 arrest, Sandiford claimed a UK gang who had threatened the life of one of her sons had forced her to carry the drugs. She changed her story however after being told she would be handed the death penalty if convicted of drug trafficking.
It was at the point Sandiford claimed she'd been asked to carry the haul by British antiques dealer, Julian Ponder, who lived in Bali, and his partner Rachel Dougall.
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Sandiford is locked up in the notorious Kerobokan Prison (ABC News)After Sandiford agreed to take part in a police sting to catch the pair, as well as a third individual, Paul Beales, officers searched Ponder's home, and both he and Sandiford were charged with drug trafficking.
There was however no evidence to link Dougall and Beales to the crime and they were handed lesser charges. Sandiford's legal team argued the gran had been pressured into carrying the cocaine, and that she had suffered from mental health problems. She was still given the death sentence, even though the prosecution had pleaded for her to receive a 15-year jail sentence instead.
This week, human rights barrister Felicity Gerry KC, who visited Sandiford in 2015, called for return to Britain. She said: “Indonesia is taking an important step in recognising the need to commute the sentences of those subject to the death penalty, especially women. Lindsay co-operated with the authorities and explained levels of coercion that should have at least mitigated her position."
Meanwhile, an inmate told the Mirror: “There is hope that she can go home. If she can get through to 2025 then she thinks she may be able to avoid the death penalty.”
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