Scott Rush's bid to beat the death penalty has been boosted by a panel of Indonesian judges

Scott Rush

SCOTT Rush's bid to beat the death penalty has been boosted by a panel of Indonesian judges labelling his sentence "incorrect and inappropriate".

The secret legal opinion, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, was due to be sent from Denpasar District Court yesterday to the Supreme Court in Jakarta.

It is understood the opinion stated the Brisbane man's death sentence was too harsh for his crime as a heroin courier.

It comes as the Supreme Court confirmed another Bali Nine member, courier Martin Stephens, had lost his last appeal against his life sentence, saying there was no new evidence.

Stephens, who plans to marry Indonesian fiancee Christine Puspayanti behind bars in April, is "very sad and very upset" about the decision.

He was visited in jail yesterday by Ms Puspayanti, who later said Stephens could not understand why he was not given a second chance. In Rush's case, the legal opinion was a positive sign in his fight to win a reprieve from death row, where he has been since late 2006 when the Supreme Court, on appeal, increased his life sentence to death.

It is now judges of the same court, Indonesia's highest court, who will consider his appeal.

Interestingly, the judges recommended the testimony of Rush's two main appeal witnesses - former Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty and current Deputy Commissioner Mick Phelan - be ruled out and put aside.

They said their evidence was not based "on what they have heard, seen and experienced by themselves".

Mr Keelty and Mr Phelan's evidence was used by Rush's defence team to argue they had the necessary "new evidence" to win a judicial review of the case and sentence.

They testified that Rush was a minor player and courier, had no knowledge of the wider syndicate and would have got a much lesser sentence had he been convicted in Australia but the Denpasar Court judges said, in their opinion, the evidence was not relevant.

Source: The Daily Telegraph, January 15, 2011 (local time)