Indonesian authorities executed a Brazilian man in January without allowing a priest to give the last rites as he waited for the firing squad.
Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira was executed on January 18, the last of five drug felons shot by firing squads on Nusakambangan, Indonesia’s execution island.
The horrific last minutes of Moreira’s life were relayed to Fairfax Media by Cilacap priest Father Charles Burrows, who was supposed to be called upon to comfort the man.
Cilacap is a town located within sight of Nusakambangan Island.
“He had to be dragged from his cell crying and saying ‘help me’,” said Burrows.
“He actually excremented in his trousers.”
The guards hosed him down but he continued to weep “all the time up to his last minutes”.
The priest said that, though the wardens were very polite, the attorney did not give him a letter to get on to the island to comfort the man even after he had kept telling them he wanted to be there.
“Usually there is a time when the minister or spiritual director gets to go forward to console them.”
“Nobody consoled Marco.”
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, two Australian drug convicts, are due to face the firing squad in Indonesia.
The executions have once more been put on hold until An Indonesian court hears an appeal is heard on Thursday against president Joko Widodo’s refusal to grant them clemency.
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News category: Asia Pacific.
