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Axl’s Pardon Plea
Axl Rose wrote to Indonesian President Joko Widodo April 27 asking him to stop the impending executions of three individuals convicted of drug trafficking, which carries a mandatory death sentence.
Rose relates how in 2012 he and his group, Guns N’ Roses, performed in Indonesia, which they “enjoyed and were taken aback by the incredible warmth of the Indonesian fans.”
The wordy, 15-paragraph missive questions the efficacy of capital punishment in fighting drug trafficking, and makes a case that two of the individuals, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, have repented for their crimes.
The news came out April 28 that they were both executed as scheduled, but a third person slated for execution was pardoned. “True justice is better achieved in not killing, not ending the lives of and not destroying others but instead in this case, this situation … in sparing the lives of these two able-bodied young men who’ve proven in the Indonesian prison system they are … capable of being productive and positive contributors to society.”
Rose says he did not know these men personally, but “their story has touched me deeply.” He adds that, “I as well as many other could easily have found ourselves in their unfortunate and unarguably self-inflicted position.” To kill these individuals “under these conditions … seems a barbaric, backward and truly disgraceful act of pride, ego, fear and prejudice.” He described the third individual slated for execution, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, as being “caught in the web of human trafficking” and implies that because of her lower social status she did not receive proper legal representation.
“I realize I am no one and no one to get involved with your affairs or those of your government,” Rose goes on, but asks that Widodo “give [these three individuals] a permanent stay of execution and … change the course of your own life and place in both your country’s and world history.”