There were no screams and no struggles when Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran faced the firing squad in Indonesia.
The convicted drugs smugglers stood strong in front of the 12 gunmen instructed to kill them, says the man who witnessed their last moments on the prison island of Nusakambangan.
Father Charlie Burrows told SBS that the Australian men died with dignity through what he described as “torture”.
“They were being strong,” he said.
“Nobody wants to die… They were putting on a brave face, to lessen the suffering of their loved ones.”
‘They weren’t blindfolded’
The Catholic priest witnessed the deaths of the eight people sentenced to death over drug offences.
In describing the moment the prisoners said their final goodbyes, Father Burrows said it was difficult.
But by the time came to leave their cells, he said they had accepted their fate and left their cells to go peacefully towards the place of the execution.
“It was dark,” he said.
“They weren’t blindfolded. They could probably see outlines of people.”
Father Burrows said he lined up with the other spiritual representatives, one empty chair in place for the priest of Mary Jane Veloso, who had escaped the firing squad.
‘Death by firing squad is torture’
Father Burrows had hugged Chan before he was tied to a cross, secured in place so that he would not suffer the same agony felt by those executed over the 2002 Bali bombing.
He said he was witness to the deaths of three terrorists, executed in 2008 for their role in the fatal attacks.
“I gave factual witness for the Bali bombers that death by firing squad is torture, because it took them a long time to die,” he said.
Father Charlie Burrows (SBS)
“Since then, they’ve changed the number of shooters from seven to 12. But obviously the problem is the doctors put the place for the heart, if they move the bullets won’t be hitting the heart and they’ll suffer a lot more, take a lot longer to die.
“The position they were in was not a suffering position, but one so they couldn’t move so that the bullets would hit the heart. So they would die quickly.”
‘Father, am I being executed?’
Father Burrows is calling for the abolition of the death penalty, his resolve strengthened having witnessed the final moments of Rodrigo Muxfeldt Gularte.
The mentally ill man had been convicted of drug trafficking, but his home country of Brazil had fought hard for his sentence to be commuted on humanitarian grounds.
Father Burrows said the 42-year-old, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, did not know what was happening until his chains were put on.
“He says ‘Father, am I being executed?’” he said.
“He made one small mistake. I think the punishment he should have gotten was being in jail. This is wrong.”
‘They were singing, we were singing’
Reformed men, one a priest and the other an artist, Chan and Sukumaran died what Father Burrows described as a respectful death.
He said they died with their voices strong and eyes wide open.
“They were singing, we were singing,” he said.
“There was a volley of shots… And they were no more.”
