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Flores
Priest to Face Firing Squad for Death of Lover and Children
Jakarta Globe February 12, 2014
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/flores-priest-to-face-firing-squad-for-murders-of-lover-and-children/
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A view of a beach in Flores,
East Nusa Tenggara. A former priest on the island was
sentenced to death for killing his lover and two of his
newborn children
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Jakarta. A two-decade-long tragedy born
of shame in East Nusa Tenggara took another step toward finality
on Tuesday after the Supreme Court imposed the death penalty on a
former Catholic priest for the deaths of his lover, a former nun,
and their two newborn children.
“I’m not pro capital punishment, but for things like
this we need deterrence so that people will not carry out these
murders, which are rampant everywhere now,” Supreme Court justice
Gayus Lumbuun said on Tuesday. “This verdict is necessary and
must be carried out.”
Herman Jumat Masan, 45, was first found guilty of the
murder of his first child with lover Yosephine Kerodok Payong —
also known as Mery Grace — at Maumere District Court in August,
2013. The prosecutor appealed the case to the provincial Kupang
High Court, which confirmed the life sentence.
The Supreme Court, however, sided with the prosecutor’s
second appeal, and said that Herman should face the firing squad
for the death of his first child — adding that the man’s callous
decision to prevent his hemorrhaging girlfriend from seeking
medical care was an aggravating factor in their decision.
The prosecution told the court that Herman and Yosephine
first met in 1995 in the remote town of Hokeng in eastern Flores.
Herman plied his trade as a local priest there while Yosephine
studied theology at the nearby Ledalero Catholics Philosophy
Institute. Two years later, Herman was sent to Lela, a community
on Flores 100 kilometers to the west of Hokeng. Yosephine
followed him there and began working at the local hospital. The Indonesian news magazine Tempo reported that
the refectory where Herman worked was just 100 meters from
Yosephine’s hospital.
It was not clear at what point the two became intimate,
although their simultaneous transfer to Lela might indicate that
some sort of relationship had developed while they both lived in
Hokeng.
Neither of the two earlier courts nor the Supreme Court
was, however, in any doubt of Herman’s responsibility for what
followed.
Yosephine became pregnant in 1998 and gave birth in
Herman’s room in 1999. The prosecutor proved beyond reasonable
doubt that the couple had smothered the newborn and buried the
body in front of Herman’s refectory out of shame that their
illicit relationship could be discovered.
They grew flowers over the grave, the court heard.
Yosephine fell pregnant again in 2002 and this baby also
died. Witnesses told the court Yosephine suffered a miscarriage,
but Gayus, in an interview with the Jakarta Globe, said the
Supreme Court judges couldn’t rule out that Herman somehow caused
the death of his second child.
Yosephine suffered a hemorrhage during childbirth and
she died nine days later. Prosecutors said Herman had denied her
the medical care that would have saved her life. The priest then
buried the former nun alongside her two dead children, the court
heard. The man’s complete disregard for his lover’s health — and
the improper disposal of all three bodies — swayed the judges
that the death penalty was necessary in this case, Gayus said.
The bodies lay hidden there for 10 years until Herman
confided in his new lover, a woman named Sofi. She informed a
family member of Yosephine’s who immediately reported the
information to the local police. Officers exhumed the remains of
Yosephine and her two infant sons and the prosecution began.
Herman will be able to file for a judicial review of the
Supreme Court decision in an attempt to have his death sentence
commuted. Should any appeal for clemency be unsuccessful, Herman
will be informed of his execution 72 hours before he is marched
out to a remote location, tied to a post and shot.
Clarification: A previous
version of this story said Herman was found guilty of three
murders. Upon further discussion with Supreme Court justice
Gayus Lumbuun it was discovered that he was only found guilty of
one murder, but that the other two deaths played a role in his
sentencing.
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