Billy Burton..............

[Tawi2]

I met this guy once,long time ago,didnt realise his story was still rolling on.

Why the 'Free Billy Burton petition' was created


In 1992 Billy Burton made the biggest mistake of his life. He had been travelling the World, ran short of money and made the terrible decision to carry drugs out of Manila.

Billy was carrying cannabis and was arrested on the plane on the runway in Manila
and was given a life sentence by a court in Manila. He was told that he could expect to serve eight years before being considered for parole. This figure has risen from eight to twenty, twenty to thirty, then thirty to forty years and still with no agreed release date in sight.

He fully accepts his wrong doing and has spent the past eighteen years trying to survive and certainly not complaining about his lot. He committed a crime and does not offer excuses for this but after 18 long years, we his supporters, feel he has paid the price. If he had committed a similar offence in the UK, he could have expected to have served five years.

In a recent letter from Billy published in the Wetherby News, he said,

“For my disrespect, lack of decency and failure to uphold moral standards when I committed a crime 18 years ago, I have only regrets. There are no excuses. I do not think however that only bad people do bad things; sometimes good people also do bad things”

The conditions in the jail have been described by an official prison visitor as "worse than any slum I have seen". In line with many fellow thalidomiders, Billy’s physical health is deteriorating. He was visited by the Director of the Thalidomide Trust in January this year who reported musculo-skeletal and sensory (hearing and vision) deterioration. The Trust's director seriously doubts whether the prison can respond to Mr Billy's needs as he continues to deteriorate.

[Tawi2]

18 years in a pinoy nick ages someone terribly

http://www.freebillyburton.com/About-Billy.aspx

[fred]

He was given 8 years in 1992 which was increased to 40 years in 2003!!
Ive been past that hell hole in Muntinlupa once or twice and I`d say he has done his time but I doubt there`s much left of him to release.

[grahamw48]

So that's what a good Christian country does to someone.

I have little sympathy for drug-takers, dealers or smugglers, but this seems inhumane to say the least.

[joebloggs]

i've got no Sympathy for drug smugglers/dealers they dont just destory the person they sell it to but their family to

thou increasing the sentence is not right , maybe it will act as a deterrent to anyone else thinking of doing the same.

[Terpe]

I normally wouldn't make any comment.
Maybe it's just the wrong timing.
More likely it's down to the still painful memories I have of the death of my younger brother and his downward spiral when his life was hopelessly and irreversibly
ruined by drugs.

Of course my brother had choices. Just as anyone involved with drugs has choices.

Concerning this thread, I feel that there a quite a number of issues.

SE Asia is certainly not a place to involve yourself with drugs. Everyone knows that.
He was caught out and treated exactly the same as any of us would have been.
The quantity he was handling was hardly personal use. He knew the risks and made a gamble.
Would anyone have any sympathy if it were a rapist or paedophile handed out the same treatment?
How would we react if non-British nationals questioned sentences given to them by British courts because they are much stricter than their own country, or that their own judiciary operates differently?
Having said that, changing laws and applying them retrospectively is really a tough deal.
The UK government often puts pressure on other countries for clemency where it is felt to be warranted.

Maybe I'm harsh in my response, but that's the way feel.

[joebloggs]

More likely it's down to the still painful memories I have of the death of my younger brother and his downward spiral when his life was hopelessly and irreversibly
ruined by drugs.

Of course my brother had choices. Just as anyone involved with drugs has choices.

it happened to my younger brother, it took 20yrs for drugs to finally kill him and destroyed my family in that time, even thou he's been dead more than 3 yrs the aftermath still continues to this day

sure he had a choice, just like anyone who took their first cig, drink or bet and became addicted, for some people they only had to take it a few times to become addicted

[Englishman2010]

i've got no Sympathy for drug smugglers/dealers they dont just destory the person they sell it to but their family to

thou increasing the sentence is not right , maybe it will act as a deterrent to anyone else thinking of doing the same.

I agree, and from reading the guys website he's not complaining about doing time for his crime. It's harsh that his sentenced has been increased retrospectively, but as Terpe implied, who are we to interfere in other countries laws, there would be outrage here if people in another country were campaigning to release someone in a British jail.

At least he's not complaining like some of the inmates on these 'banged up abroad' programmes, where they blame everyone else except themselves. If you smuggle drugs into or out of Asia, you know if you get caught, you face a very long time in jail and possibly even a death sentence

[fred]

If he was caught carting shabu or smack cocaine then thats different IMO.. But 40 years for 12Lbs of weed !!! He was really really stupid thinking about taking it on a plane and I doubt it would have raised him enough money for a month in a hotel in Aussie,even back then..
There was a case a while ago here involving Big time Filipino`s and Chinese Shabu dealers arrested in a huge bust and haul..They were released by a judge..Cost them about 5 million but they are out now probably dealing shabu again which unlike weed is highly addictive and a real killer..A mind destroying drug..Thats proper Filipino justice..Money talks and the "law" here protects the big time boys here all the time..
In my wife`s town a local murderer has just been released after 10 years..
Now I hope they let this Brit out with a clemency deal...Enough already!
18 years!!! I bet he can do the Micheal Jackson moon walk and everything!

[Arthur Little]

Money talks and the "law" here protects the big time boys here all the time..

... isn't it the same everywhere?

[Tawi2]

If he was caught carting shabu or smack cocaine then thats different IMO.. But 40 years for 12Lbs of weed !!!

Correct,grass shouldnt be lumped alongside shabu.coke,heroine,or any other drug which involves a chemical process in its manufacture,grass is simply dried female cannabis flowers,a lot less harmfull than a normal ciggie which contains a shedload of carcinogenic chemicals I would imagineI know loads of people,professionals,who smoke to unwind,relax or whatever,theres a chasm of difference between having a spliff and being monged out 24/7,let he who is without sin cast the first stone
Pinas is hypocritical,didnt Chavit earlier this year get a immigrations/customs chaperone through NAIA unsearched while he had in his possession coke reputedly from the samal drugs-drop?Thank god the chinese at honkers were on the ball
I know a shabu dealer and her husband from siquijor,caught in Dumaguete as they stepped from the boat carrying a sizeable quantity,I have seen the house they bought through their dealings,as he is from an influential minor political family his wife was blamed,served a few years(sentenced to a lot longer)she is out now working for some governmental office,hypocricy,as for pinas moving the goal posts in the case of Billy Burton...............

[grahamw48]

...And then of course there is IMELDA.

[Arthur Little]

...And then of course there is IMELDA.

Ah ... but in her "case" it was shoes ... ... wasn't it!?

[bornatbirth]

,hypocricy,as for pinas moving the goal posts in the case of Billy Burton...............

shouldnt that be, to be seen tough on foreigners when breaking the law

[Arthur Little]

shouldnt that be, to be seen tough on foreigners when breaking the law

... isn't it about time you and Dedworth got together to put the world to rights?

[bornatbirth]

... isn't it about time you and Dedworth got together to put the world to rights?

only unless he supports man utd and starts voting labour, only then will we win the noble peace prize

[fred]

Something is definitely not right about this case...He gets 8 years and a few years later it is changed to 40?
Ive told a few Filipino`s this story and they look at me as if I am full of ****!!
They have all said that the original sentence should stand..
This guy has been forgotten about both in the UK and the legal system here for 18 years..Now he has reappeared in the news Im pretty certain he will be released..
IMO the story must hit the UK national newspapers for that to happen.

[Terpe]

Something is definitely not right about this case...He gets 8 years and a few years later it is changed to 40?
Ive told a few Filipino`s this story and they look at me as if I am full of ****!!
They have all said that the original sentence should stand..
This guy has been forgotten about both in the UK and the legal system here for 18 years..Now he has reappeared in the news Im pretty certain he will be released..
IMO the story must hit the UK national newspapers for that to happen.

Billy was carrying 12lbs of cannabis and was arrested at Manila airport and was subsequently given a life term of 30 years. Initially he was informed that he could expect to serve eight years before being considered for parole; however before he reached eligibility to apply, the Filipino government enforced an embargo on parole for all drug offenders, even if sentencing had taken place prior to the ruling. Retrospective increases in sentences for all drug related offences, mean that Billy will now not be due for release until 2032, by which time he will be 70.

[fred]

Thanks Terpe...Can you provide a source for the info above for my info and notes?
Cheers,
Fred.

[Dedworth]

Retrospective increases in sentences for terrorists, drug dealers and paedophiles would be popular in the UK imho.

Ken Clarke Secretary of State for Justice is coming across as a bit of a limp wrister but it might be worth emailing the suggestion to him clarkek@parliament.uk

[grahamw48]

They'll be off on their hols for about a month now....at our expense.

[fred]

They'll be off on their hols for about a month now....at our expense.

So glad Im no longer paying UK taxes Grahamw48!!
Quite happy to leave the tab for you and Dedworth on this occasion!!...And the next!

[Terpe]

Thanks Terpe...Can you provide a source for the info above for my info and notes?
Cheers,
Fred.

Yes Fred. Just look at post 2 from Tawi
Check out the link
http://www.freebillyburton.com/

[Tawi2]

Example of the high level hypocrisy prevalent in Pinas

[it should be mentioned that tito sotto former game show host and general asshole, who made it his life times work to either jail users for life or to kill them with the death penalty! was charged in 97 with supplying crystal meth but the charges were mysteriously went away. while former chairman of the dangerous drugs broad. but came back again to form the PDEA and the dangerous drugs act, taking the war to a whole new level. but never really explained were his massive wealth comes from? many growers -smokers are inside cause of this man. some poor people are doing 25 years for a few joints]

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/208825/c...a-legalization

Last month a friend who runs a newspaper on Siquijor told me a barangay captain had just been arrested with a million quids worth of shabu,the local cops were "Most unhelpfull" to the squad who carried out the raid,probably getting their palms well greased at regular intervals