Reflections on Mary Jane and the death penalty

THE death convict Mary Jane Veloso never wavered in her claim that she was an innocent victim of human trafficking. But when all hopes had seemed to fail, she prepared herself to die. In fact, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, which calls itself the country’s leading newspaper, did not hesitate to kill her, in one big banner headline. She told her two young children not to expect her to come home anymore because she was “going to heaven.” This was nothing less than a complete surrender to the “Divine Will.” If she had always been a woman of faith, she demonstrated it here. If she had never been, this showed she had found her faith right there. It was her moment of conversion; her final expiation. No wonder her own mother and so many others have called it a “miracle.”

But the 30-year-old woman’s ordeal is not yet over. Many are still praying that her temporary relief would soon become final and permanent. This does not depend on those who are even now trying to claim credit for her temporary relief; it would depend rather on the review of the case by the Indonesian government. After all, that government suspended the death sentence only after Veloso’s allegedly illegal recruiter surrendered to the police. This provided a lead in tracking down the African syndicate said to have duped Veloso into becoming a drug mule.