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The majority of Australians (51%) believe that convicted drug trafficker, Schapelle Corby, is not guilty of attempting to smuggle 4.1kgs of Marijuana into Indonesia . However, 21% of Australians believe Schapelle Corby is guilty, whilst a larger number (28%) are undecided.

On the issue of whether Prime Minister John Howard should become involved and ask the Indonesian President to pardon Schapelle Corby, 37% of all Australians believe Mr Howard should not ask the President of Indonesia to pardon Schapelle Corby at all, 37% believe that Mr Howard should wait until after her appeal, 21% think Mr Howard should ask the President of Indonesia to pardon Schapelle Corby now, and 5% can’t say. These are the findings according to a special telephone Morgan Poll, conducted June 1/2 to assess Schapelle Corby’s recent conviction and sentence.

Gary Morgan says:

“The trial and sentencing of Schapelle Corby has received a great deal of media coverage. The media would have everyone believe that an overwhelming majority of Australians think Schapelle Corby is innocent, however this latest Morgan Poll shows only a slight majority (51%) of Australians believe Schapelle Corby is innocent while 21% believe she is guilty. There are 28% of Australians undecided on whether she is guilty of not.

“Prime Minister John Howard has been criticised for not becoming involved in the trial of Schapelle Corby. This latest Morgan Poll shows more Australians (37%) agree with Mr Howard’s decision not to become involved than those who think he should ask the President of Indonesia to pardon Schapelle Corby now (21%). A further 37% of Australians believe Mr Howard should wait until after Schapelle Corby’s appeal.”

Schapelle Corby’s Twenty Year Sentence:

Of Australians who believe Schapelle Corby is guilty, most believe the sentence should have been less than twenty years. More than half those who believe Schapelle Corby is guilty (13% of all Australians) said the sentence should be less than twenty years, 5% twenty years, 0.5% life, 0.5% the death penalty and the remaining 2% thought she was guilty but couldn’t say what sentence she should have received.

When those surveyed on June 1/2 were asked if they had any comments or reasons why they believe Schapelle Corby is not guilty, many mentioned confusion about why Schapelle would take drugs into a country where they are readily available, with common responses being:

“She had no reason to take drugs into Indonesia because she could get them there. It would make more sense to smuggle them out of Indonesia ”, “She would be stupid to take drugs into a country where worth is less than in Australia ”, “Who in their right mind would take marijuana into Bali ? You can buy it on the beach! It’s just ridiculous!” and “You don’t take a drug from Australia into a third world country when it is only worth about a third of the amount. It’s not logical!!”.

For others Schapelle Corby’s body language was enough to convince them of her innocence with comments such as:

“You just have to see that young girl’s face, her body language, and the look on her face when the verdict was given”, “Just looking at the girl I think it is perfectly obvious that she is telling the truth. I don’t think she could keep up the lies constantly from what we have seen on television”, “Schapelle looked shocked when she was caught. I believe her version of the events” and “Just the way she reacted. She doesn’t look like a guilty person”.

The possibility of a drug smuggling ring and the questions surrounding Australian baggage handlers were raised by others, with comments such as:

“We need to consider the big picture — baggage handlers etc. There is quite a reasonable possibility that baggage handlers could have been involved”, “I think she is definitely a victim of drug trafficking. I have heard so many stories about paying certain customs officers to get certain things”, “Baggage handlers in Sydney have been caught in corrupt activities — maybe she’s been caught up in it?”, and “I don’t see why she would carry it in that manner — too obvious. There has been a lot of fiddling about by baggage handlers. It is questionable whether someone else planted it”.

The lack of substantiated evidence and neglect to fingerprint Schapelle’s body board bag were also mentioned:

“I think that the whole court case and the evidence were very badly organized”, “I don’t think there was enough evidence to prove it. I would like to have seen a fair trial”, “I think that there were not enough correct things done at the airport when she was arrested. Fingerprints were not taken, it was not videoed and they should have checked where the drugs were grown”, “There is enough doubt. She should be given the benefit of the doubt”, “Some of the evidence wasn’t tested properly. It is a miscarriage of justice” and “The boogie board bag should have been fingerprinted and trace through records so as to determine the weight of her bag on departure, compared to the weight on her arrival in Indonesia”

Of those who believe Schapelle Corby is guilty, many thought that the Australian Media did not present all the facts, with common responses being:

“There’s more to the story than what’s in the media. It would be interesting to hear more facts that came out of the case. There has to be a reason she was found guilty”, “The Australian journalism system, newspapers and TV failed to report all the facts of the case, therefore the Australian public was not given all the proper facts. The papers and the TV are censoring what we see” and “The media say she’s not guilty. We’re only getting one side, we don’t know exactly what happened in that court room”

Family associations and the evidence provided were also mentioned, with comments such as:

“I think she could be guilty by association. I don’t think she is the actual one who was transporting the marijuana. I think she is taking the rap for one of the family”, “Looking at her family history, her dad has been caught with drugs, and if you’re stupid enough to handle drugs you deserve to be caught”, “If she was convicted there must be some sort of evidence against her, so I guess I trust in the Indonesian judicial system” and “The evidence was fairly definite. The arguments against were highly speculative. Arguments against were at the minimum laughable and would not be supported in Australia ”.

Others mentioned knowing and abiding by the laws of the country you are visiting, with comments such as:

“You must obey the laws of the country you are visiting”, “I feel the girl is in an unfortunate position, but we cannot condone or denigrate another country’s legal system” and “I rely on each country’s judicial system and the way they operate — you go there with that knowledge, so you have to be extra cautious with your luggage”.

Schapelle Corby — Guilty or Not Guilty?

Respondents were first told: “Last Friday (May 27, 2005) Schapelle Corby was convicted of trafficking 4.1kgs of Marijuana into Indonesia . Schapelle Corby was sentenced to 20 years in jail”.

Respondents were then asked: “In your opinion, is Schapelle Corby guilty or not guilty?”

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

Analysis by sex shows that men (26%) were more likely than women (15%) to believe Schapelle Corby is guilty.

Analysis by age shows 29% of those aged 14-17 think Schapelle Corby is guilty, compared with 25% of 25 to 34 year olds, 24% of 18 to 24 year olds, 16% of 35-49 year olds and 20% of people over 50.

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

*Includes all respondents who were undecided on voting intention, plus those ineligible to vote and those aged 14-17

Analysis by voting intention shows that the majority of the ALP (54%) and the Australian Democrats (52%), believe Schapelle Corby is innocent.

Intervention by Prime Minister John Howard

Respondents were then asked: “In your opinion, should Prime Minister John Howard ask the President of Indonesia to pardon Schapelle Corby now, wait until after her appeal, or not become involved at all?”

Analysis by sex shows that women were more likely than men to think that Mr Howard should intervene now (28% cf 14%) while men were more inclined than women to think that Mr Howard should not intervene at all (44% cf 31%).

Those aged 14 to 17 (43%) were most likely to think that Mr Howard should intervene now, compared with only 16% of those aged over 50.

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

*Includes all respondents who were undecided on voting intention, plus those ineligible to vote and those aged 14-17

Analysis by voting intention shows that ALP supporters (21%) were slightly more likely than L-NP supporters (16%) to believe that Mr Howard should ask the Indonesian President to pardon Schapelle Corby now.

The above tables show Australians’ attitudes towards the guilt and sentencing of Schapelle Corby and the involvement of lack of involvement by Prime Minister John Howard, analysed by Sex, Age and Federal Voting Intention.

The complete analysis of results by demographics and regions is available on subscription.

This special telephone Morgan Poll was conducted on the evenings of June 1/2, 2005, with 645 respondents aged 14 and over Australia-wide.     

Gary Morgan :   Office (03) 9224 5213   Mobile 0411 129 094   Home (03) 9419 3242

Michele Levine :   Office (03) 9224 5215   Mobile 0411 129 093   Home (03) 9817 3066

The Morgan Poll is conducted by the ONLY Australian member of the Gallup International Association.

No Other public opinion poll taken in Australia has this qualification.

© 2012 Roy Morgan Research. All Rights Reserved
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