Family consoles female inmate before execution<\/p>\n
ID Nugroho
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Malang<\/p>\n
Crushing sadness and wan smiles marked the last Idul Fitri for
\nAstini as she bade farewell to her family and fellow inmates in
\nMalang women's penitentiary, aware that she is likely to face the
\nfiring squad in the coming days.<\/p>\n
Astini was seen mingling with hundreds of well-wishers and
\ninmates after the Id prayers on Sunday. Wearing the regular blue
\nprison uniform, together with a sarong of the same hue, the 49-
\nyear-old woman looked relaxed and cheerful.<\/p>\n
\"Forgive me, Minal aidin walfaidzin,\" she intoned the Idul
\nFitri greeting solemnly. Most of those she greeted sobbed.<\/p>\n
The visit of her children and grandchildren, however, was more
\nthan a consolation for Astini, who was sentenced to death in 1996
\nfor triple murder and mutilation.<\/p>\n
Astini hurriedly approached her son Fidianto, who arrived
\nearlier than his siblings, Sulastri and Teddy. The last two came
\nalong with their families.<\/p>\n
Her husband remarried some years ago.<\/p>\n
Astini's legal efforts to avoid execution were exhausted after
\nformer president Megawati Soekarnoputri rejected her request to
\nhave her death sentence commuted on Oct. 5.<\/p>\n
Surabaya prosecutor's office director Dharmawan said Astini's
\nexecution had been delayed until after Idul Fitri to honor the
\nRamadhan fasting month. She will be the third person to be
\nexecuted this year.<\/p>\n
Astini and her family met in the warden's office. The 49-year-
\nold woman kissed her grandchildren repeatedly.<\/p>\n
She even went back to her cell to fetch the cookies that she
\nhad prepared. \"These are for my children and grandchildren,\" she
\ntold one of the guards.<\/p>\n
The family reunion was cut short by a guard announcing that
\nafternoon visiting time was up. It was a heartbreaking moment as
\nAstini watched her children and grandchildren leave.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know what to say. I'm leaving everything to God
\nalmighty,\" Sulastri, Astini's pregnant eldest daughter, told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
A tearful Sulastri said that she had faith in her mother's
\nlawyer.<\/p>\n
\"I leave the legal matters up to my mother and her lawyer,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Astini's second child, Teddy, said he had decided to pray and
\nsubmit her mother's fate to God. \"We just pray to God for our
\nmother's strength,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He hoped that she would be able to accept whatever fate
\nbestowed on her. \"We have been trying to comfort her,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Astini's youngest child, Fidiyanto, preferred to keep silent.<\/p>\n
Warden Purwanti Suyatni hoped the courts would review the
\nsentence.<\/p>\n
\"I personally think the death sentence handed down on her is
\ninappropriate as she did it unintentionally,\" she told the Post.<\/p>\n
Suyatni said that Astini had improved mentally and spiritually
\nsince she had arrived in the penitentiary.<\/p>\n
\"She is well behaved, polite to her fellow inmates and guards,
\nand almost every day learns to recite the Koran from a teacher
\nwho comes here,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Another inmate agreed with the warden. \"To the best of my
\nknowledge, Ibu Astini is not a bad person,\" said Ratih (not her
\nreal name), an inmate in the penitentiary.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/family-consoles-female-inmate-before-execution-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}