A British grandmother living on death row spends her time knitting as she is locked up in a Bali prison for drug smuggling, The Mirror reports. Lindsay Sandiford has been in Kerobokan Prison for almost a decade, having been arrested in 2013 for trying to smuggle £1.6 million worth of cocaine into Indonesia.
In Indonesia, the punishment for this crime is death by firing squad. Prisoners can choose to sit or stand before armed soldiers take their shots, aiming for the heart.
If a prisoner manages to survive, the commander then shoots them in the head. The 65-year-old gran is still waiting for her execution date as Indonesia carries them out infrequently, and prisoners can be left waiting on death row for more than 10 years.
Sandiford, who had separated from her husband, made the decision to move to India in 2012. She was arrested as she arrived in Bali from Bangkok on May 19, 2012, after cocaine was found in her luggage.
The former legal secretary originally insisted she had been forced to carry the Class A drugs by a criminal gang which had threatened to hurt her family if she refused. However, she then changed her story when she was told she would receive the death penalty if convicted of drug trafficking.
She told officers she had been asked to carry the drugs by Julian Ponder, a British antiques dealer. Sandiford agreed to take part in a police sting to catch Ponder, but she was still later charged with drug trafficking.
She was sentenced to death on January 22, 2013. During her time in prison Sandiford has knitted various items which she sells to try and raise money for her legal fees.
Whilst behind bars she befriended killer Heather Mack, who has served 10 years for the murder of her mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack.
Mack revealed that Sandiford has become increasingly reclusive whilst in prison. She has become difficult to speak to. She added: "She spends all day pretty much alone in her cell and doesn’t mix so much with the other prisoners."
The killer also revealed Sandiford has just one final wish. She said: "She has said she wants to die."
Sandiford herself has said: "It won't be a hard thing for me to face any more. It's not particularly a death I would choose but then again I wouldn't choose dying in agony from cancer either."
She has also said she feels blessed to have been able to watch her two sons grow up.
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