Oki to appeal for clemency over death sentence

Oki to appeal for clemency over death sentence

JAKARTA (JP): Convicted murderer Harnoko Dewantono, alias Oki,
35, plans to seek clemency from the President, after the Supreme
Court upheld the death sentence imposed on him by the Jakarta
High Court in 1997, following his conviction for three murders
committed in the United States between 1991 and 1992, a court
official said.

"One of Oki's lawyers spoke with me and said that Oki would
soon forward a written appeal for clemency to President
Abdurrahman Wahid. He feels it is his only hope," the court's
chief clerk for criminal cases, Darwin, told reporters on
Thursday.

He said the defendant had 30 days from the date of receipt of
the written copy of the Supreme Court's verdict, to decide
whether he wanted to appeal for clemency or not.

The defendant received a copy of the verdict on Oct. 4.

"The death sentence cannot be carried out by the court within
the period of 30 days counting from the day on which the
defendant received the written copy of the verdict," Darwin said,
citing the 1950 Amnesty Law.

"If the defendant chooses the clemency option, he must forward
a request within this period of 30 days to the clerk of the
district court, which imposed the death sentence".

The formal request for clemency, Darwin said, is then
immediately forwarded to the President, the District Court
President, and the Attorney General's Office.

"The death sentence cannot be carried out until the
Presidential Decree (on the acceptance or rejection of the
request for clemency), has been received by the Attorney
General," he said.

The Supreme Court hearing which upheld the death sentence was
presided over by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarwata.

"The written decision, issued on June 29 this year, held that
Oki had been proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt of having
violated Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated
murder," a court official, Heri, had said earlier.

The district court sentenced Oki to death on May 13, 1997,
after he was found guilty of murdering his Indian business
partner, Suresh Mirchandani, an Indonesian business partner, Gina
Sutan Aswar, and Oki's own younger brother, Tri Harto Darmawan,
alias Eri, in Los Angeles, California, between 1991 and 1992.

The bodies of the three victims were found in August 1994 in a
warehouse locker at a U-Haul Storage facility in Los Angeles.

The locker had been abandoned for months.

During the 1997 trial, forensic scientist Abdul Mun'im Idris
cited the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD) forensic reports
which showed that Mirchandani had had his chest cut open and his
lungs and heart taken out while he was still alive.

The body also had a bullet hole in it, but Abdul Mun'im said
that it could not be determined from which direction the shot was
fired.

The high court bench, presided over by Soetarmiati, upheld the
trial court's verdict in October 1997. (ylt)