About Billy
In 1992 Billy Burton, aged 29, made the biggest mistake of his life. He had been travelling the World, got into extreme financial difficulty and made the terrible decision to carry cannabis out of Manila.
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, irrespective of whether 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.
Billy fully accepts his wrong doing. Now aged 48, he has spent the past eighteen years simply surviving. He committed a crime and does not try to excuse himself, he fully accepts that this was wrong. But after 18 long years, we his supporters feel he has paid the price. By comparison, 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”
Billy’s friends, family and campaigners are extremely concerned for Billy’s health. He is a Thalidomide victim and has a catalogue of growing health problems which are consistent with other victims’ health challenges as they move into middle age, according to the Thalidomide Trust. Billy has lost a significant proportion of his hearing ability in recent times, which continues to deteriorate and he is in urgent need of surgery for any hope of him not becoming completely deaf.
Friends, family and campaigners believe that Billy has paid his penalty for his crime. Billy sincerely apologises to the people of the Philippines and the Filipino President and government for his disrespect 18 years ago.
Billy is a good man with a positive character, the sort of man that adds to society with his kindness. He made a serious error of judgement nearly 20 years ago now and we appeal to the President of the Philippines, Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III and to the British Embassy in Manila to support actively our plea for clemency and secure Billy’s release.
Speaking earlier today, Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne gave a statement.
The Minister said:
“I welcome the news that President Aquino has decided to grant Billy Burton clemency. I supported Billy’s clemency appeal given the compelling, compassionate circumstances of his case, and discussed it with both President Aquino and Justice Secretary, Leila De Lima, during my recent visit to the Philippines.
“I know that this news will be warmly welcomed by Billy’s family and his supporters at the Thalidomide Trust who have campaigned tirelessly on Billy’s behalf.
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I don't know if this has been posted on the site before.....anyway for Billy to survive in a Philippine jail for 18 years he must be super human....The sentence was too harsh for me....1 yr for ever kilo maybe...I hope he writes a book about the jail system here...
By the way a Japanese male servered 10 yrs imprisonment and when released The Bureau Of Immigration charge him back log of visa fee's for the 10 yrs...
You have just got to love them here..
Koala
he knew what he was doing but got caught he would have made lots of money if he had got aways with it
as for his health he done the same as lockiby bomber played am sick and dying and we all know hes still alive 
