DENPASAR, Indonesia, April 29 (UPI) -- An Australian woman on trial in Indonesia for smuggling marijuana has begged the court for mercy, tearfully proclaiming her innocence.
In her final defense plea, Schapelle Corby, 27, said, "I cannot admit to a crime I did not commit," the BBC reported Thursday.
Corby, a beauty therapist, was arrested at Bali airport in October after 9 pounds of marijuana were found in her bags. Under Indonesia's tough anti-drug laws, convicted traffickers can be executed.
The case has attracted widespread public interest in Australia, and the Canberra government has urged Indonesian prosecutors not to ask for the death penalty.
In a written statement to judges at the district court in Bali's capital, Denpasar, Thursday, Corby said she was an innocent victim of Australian drug gangs and emphasized that she had no knowledge of how the marijuana came to be inside her bags.
She said she had already been punished enough for doing no more than failing to lock her bags.
Prosecutors have recommended that Corby serve a life sentence, although the judges could still impose the death penalty if they convict her.
A verdict is expected by next month.
