Execution of the Bali Nine

In April of 2005, nine Australians were arrested on the island of Bali, Indonesia for smuggling a total of 18 lbs of heroin worth around four million USD. The ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were sentenced to death by firing squad - the first ever death sentence by the Denpasar district court. The other group members were sentenced to life in prison. 
Over the ten year span of 2005-2015, Andrew and Myuran have appealed against their death row sentence. On December 10, 2014 new Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, officially stated that he will not approve any clemencies for drug offenses.
Andrew and Myuran were set to be executed by twelve men of the firing squad on the island of Nusa Kambangan in central Java. Their execution had just been carried out midnight Indonesian time on April 29, 2015 - my birthday.

Now that you know the background of everything, I would just like to tell share with you some of my thoughts on this whole thing.
Indonesia is a country that is very dear to my heart. After 13 years of living in America, I still continue to call Bali my home. When I first heard about the Bali Nine, I didn't think much of them since Indonesia is full of drug dealers and addicts. But when I heard that the two men were going to be executed, I became worried. Just this past week, all of my social media feeds have been blowing up with posts concerning the Bali Nine (search for the hashtag #IStandForMercy).
I am so on the fence for this topic. Of course, I do not believe in the killing of these men. I have watched multiple videos and read multiple posts regarding the Bali Nine. After ten years, people change and I do believe that these men would not deal drugs again if they were released. On the other hand however, these guys knew what they were doing when they tried to sneak in EIGHTEEN LBS of heroin into Indonesia. Like it literally says "Drug Traffickers sentenced to death by law" on the visa that tourists receive when entering Indonesia.

Jokowi's decision to go through with this execution will no doubt harm Indonesia as a country financially and emotionally. Australia has already cut the $600 million AUD that they promised to Indonesia. They are also considering to withdraw the ambassador in Jakarta (something that Australia has never done). The Philippines have declared that they will not be helping Indonesia with their clemency plea to Saudi Arabia.  This execution has and will continue to impact Indonesia's tourism, economy, and contact with neighboring countries.

All in all, executions will not impact the drug trade in Indonesia. The death penalty is not the answer to deal with drug abuse. These men deserved prison time yes of course, but not death. My prayers go out to the families of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

Terima Kasih untuk teman sama keluarga ku dari Indo yang baca post ini. Gw sayang sekali Indonesia, tapi gw tidak setuju dengan eksekusi orang ini.  Eksekusi tidak akan berdampak perdagangan narkoba. Hukuman mati bukan jawaban untuk menangani narkoba.

Here is a painting that Myuran drew of Jokowi..

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Some links for videos concerning this topic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__HF-uMWaE0
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/19/bali-nine-indonesia-says-it-will-not-respond-to-threats-from-australia 
http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/04/27/dnt-indonesia-bali-nine-paint.seven-network