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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

We will soon be able to bring dead back to life


We'll soon be able to bring dead back to life, says heart specialist: He claims he could have saved Sopranos star James Gandolfini

  • Dr Sam Parnia said his research is on the cusp of major breakthroughs
  • At the moment medics can bring people back to life within two hours but he believes this window is about to be significantly widened
  • Average resuscitation rate for cardiac arrest patients in UK is 16% but at Dr Parnia's Stony Brook University School of Medicine it is 33%
  • He added: 'My basic message: The death we commonly perceive today in 2013 is a death that can be reversed'


Medical advances mean it will soon be possible to bring the dead back to life, a doctor claims.
Modern techniques will enable a patient to be revived up to 24 hours after they stop breathing, Dr Sam Parnia says.
The American critical care physician, who trained in London, said: ‘We may soon be rescuing people from death’s clutches hours, or even longer, after they have actually died.’
Dr Sam Parnia has claimed people could be brought back to life 24 hours after they have died
Mr Parnia said James Gandolfini may have survived if he had his heart attack in New York
Claims: Dr Sam Parnia says medical advances mean it could soon be possible to bring people back to life 24 hours after they stopped breathing. Dr Parnia also said he could have saved the life of actor James Gandolfini
He claims the US actor James Gandolfini, star of The Sopranos – who died aged 51 in Rome last month – might have survived if he had suffered his massive heart attack in New York.
‘I believe if he died here, he could still be alive. We’d cool him down, pump oxygen to the tissues, which prevents them from dying,’ Dr Parnia told Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine. ‘Clinically dead, he could then be cared for by the cardiologist. He would make an angiogram, find the clot, take it out, put in a stent and we would restart the heart.’
Dr Parnia, whose new book on resuscitation science is called Erasing Death, said death should be reversible for many patients, providing they are in the right place getting the right treatment.
 
‘Of course we can’t rescue everybody and many people with heart attacks have other major problems,’ he said. ‘But if all the latest medical technologies and training had been implemented, which clearly hasn’t been done, then in principle the only people who should die and stay dead are those that have an underlying condition that is untreatable.
‘A heart attack is treatable. Blood loss as well. A terminal cancer isn’t, neither are many infections with multiresistant pathogens. In these cases, even if we’d restart the heart, it would stop again and again.
‘My basic message: The death we commonly perceive today in 2013 is a death that can be reversed.’ Dr Parnia, head of intensive care at the Stony Brook University Hospital in New York, said resuscitation figures tell their own story.
The average resuscitation rate for cardiac arrest patients is 18 per cent in US hospitals and 16 per cent in Britain. But at his hospital it is 33 per cent – and the rate peaked at 38 per cent earlier this year.
Eternal life: Critical care physician, Dr Sam Parnia, said his 'revival research' is on the cusp of major breakthroughs which will allow the dead to rise again
Eternal life: Critical care physician, Dr Sam Parnia, said his 'revival research' is on the cusp of major breakthroughs which will allow the dead to rise again after being dead for some time
‘Most, but not all of our patients, get discharged with no neurological damage whatsoever,’ he said, adding that it is a ‘widely held misconception’ – even among doctors – that the brain begins to suffer massive damage from oxygen deprivation three to five minutes after the heart stops.
‘In the past decade we have seen tremendous progress. With today’s medicine, we can bring people back to life up to one, maybe two hours, sometimes even longer, after their heart stopped beating and they have thus died by circulatory failure.
‘In the future, we will likely get better at reversing death.’
The techniques he advocates are not cryogenics – freezing the body immediately after death – but cooling it down to best preserve brain cells while keeping up the level of oxygen in the blood. This buys time to fix the underlying problem and restart the heart, he claims.
He says that if someone collapses with a heart attack, call 999 then immediately place bags of frozen vegetables on them until the ambulance arrives, as it helps protect the brain.
‘It is possible that in 20 years, we may be able to restore people to life 12 hours or maybe even 24 hours after they have died.
‘You could call that resurrection, if you will. But I still call it resuscitation science.’


Man bites snake to death


A Nepali man who was bitten by a cobra snake subsequently bit the snake to death, a local newspaper reported on Thursday 
After being bitten by the snake, while he was working in his rice paddy on Tuesday, 55-year-old Mohamed Salmo Miya chased the snake, caught it and bit it until it died, the Annapurna Post reported, according toReuters.
"I could have killed it with a stick but bit it with my teeth instead because I was angry," Miya was quoted as saying.
Miya, who lives in a village some 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of the Nepali capital of Kathmandu, was receiving treatment at a village health post at the time of the news report and was not in danger of dying from his snakebite. He will not be charged with killing the snake, a local police official said, because cobras (called "goman" in Nepal) are not listed as endangered in the country.
In short, a snake has died of manbite.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Outrage at judge after rape victim is forced to watch CCTV of horrific attack



A judge was blasted by campaigners yesterday after a a rape victim was made to sit through CCTV footage of her sickening sex attack.
She was forced to relive her ordeal at the hands of Mohammed Azim as he smashed a bottle over her head, dragged her into a nearby factory by the hair and raped her for 25 minutes.
Azim, 31, was convicted but charity Rape Crisis blasted the trial judge’s decision to put the victim through more pain so lawyers could quiz her about the video.
Chief executive Yvonne Traynor said: “The judge had an opportunity to decide what to do and blatantly made the wrong decision.
“I am appalled this woman had been through enough and then to be shown this in court to torture her again shows an appalling lack of consideration and common sense.”
Jurors at Wolverhampton crown court found Azim guilty of three sex charges. He denied the drink and drug-fuelled attack in November.
Azim appeared in Stafford crown court on Friday and was jailed for at least 16 years.
The court heard Azim, of Oldbury, West Mids, had past convictions for manslaughter and a kidnap involving a man’s death.
Judge Michael Chalinnor told him: “In spite of clear evidence you continued to maintain your ­innocence. You are lucky to have escaped a mandatory life sentence.”
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling last month announced plans to spare vulnerable victims the ordeal of brutal cross examinations in court.
A series of pilots will see them give evidence on video before the trial.

LADY Gaga is now such a slave to her outrageous stage persona she cannot switch it off even when she has SEX, shocked insiders revealed yesterday.

The raunchy pop superstar has turned into a maneater whose bizarre and kinky antics are threatening to jeopardise her career, according to members of her inner circle.
One fearful pal said bluntly as a former member of the singer’s crew also spoke out: “She has completely lost her mind.”
The chum lifted the lid on how the 27-year-old New Yorker — real name Stefani Germanotta — has convinced herself she ISthe alter ego fans see on stage.
The personality disorder is so total that her own mother — who sent her to be educated at a strict Catholic girls school — now calls her by her new name.
The friend said: “Nobody calls her Stefani. Even her mum calls her Gaga.
“She can no longer tell the difference between reality and performance.”
Her pal added: “It is like she is living her entire life in this alternate universe that she has created.”
The transformation means the Poker Face singer — once painfully insecure about her looks — is now sex mad.
The former crew member even described the singer as a “monster” — as the mega-star’s friend told how she:
BEDS fellas while putting on an extravagant Gaga-style “performance” complete with “weird stuff”.
LOVES to have sex where there is a risk strangers will see her.
REFUSES to take no for an answer if she sees a guy she fancies.
Lady Gaga & Taylor Kinney
Making waves ... Lady Gaga and latest flame Taylor Kinney in pool clinch pic she put on Twitter
Eroteme
The friend described how Gaga mercilessly dumped her old flame for the actor who played him in her video for her track You & I.
She had written the song for Luc Carl — whom she had known since before she shot to fame.
But despite the pair having dated on and off for years she set her sights on Vampire Diaries star Taylor Kinney, 32 — stealing him from his then-girlfriend.
The pal said: “She was filming the promo for the song in Luc’s hometown of Nebraska — with him there — and had hired Taylor to play Luc in the video. So she cheated on her boyfriend with the man playing him in the music video — then dumped him. Taylor had a girlfriend and she told him she didn’t care.
“She takes what she wants — because she can.” The friend went on:
“She is obsessed with men. She will do anything to get a guy.
She is a complete exhibitionist and has had sex in places where she knows strangers can see her.
Her love-making is a big performance. She loves doing weird stuff in the bedroom. She is as extravagant in bed as she is on stage.”
The singer — racked with insecurity about her looks as a teenager — is said to have become obsessed with her appearance. Last week rumours swept the internet that Gaga had undergone a nose job.
A music industry insider said of her determination to improve her looks: “Stefani had dark hair but she dyed it blonde early in her career because she kept being told she looked like Amy Winehouse. She didn’t like that at all.
“She respected Amy’s career but didn’t want to look like her. She wanted to look like a supermodel.”
Lady Gaga & Mick Jagger
Hot stuff ... Lady Gaga on stage with Mick Jagger
The source also told how Gaga had “a terrible relationship with food” — saying: “She was obsessed with having to be skinny and would starve herself and be sick after meals.
“She tells her fans to love themselves whatever their quirks — but does not always practise what she preaches.”
The ex-member of her crew told of witnessing the singer’s dark side during her moneyspinning Monster Ball world tour — which ran from 2009 to 2011. The source — who insisted on anonymity to avoid becoming a victim of the volatile performer’s wrath — said: “She would have a prayer circle before each show.
“One night she just suddenly turned on one of the backing singers, branding her unprofessional and ungrateful.
“She crucified her in front of dozens of people — she skinned this girl alive.
“It was so painful to watch — and no, you couldn’t step in.”
The insider scoffed: “She offers support to her fans who are victims of bullying and calls them her monsters — but she is a bully and a monster herself.”
The unfortunate backing singer is not the only one to have felt the full terrifying force of Gaga’s fury.
Former best friend Jennifer O’Neill, 42 — who met the singer before she found fame and went on to become her personal assistant — got an earful after she left the job, then demanded backpay.
The ex-PA is now suing Gaga for around £250,000 she claims to be owed in unpaid overtime — plus damages. The landmark case could change the employment rights of assistants working for demanding celebrities across the US.
Jennifer’s action — lodged against the singer’s Mermaid Touring Company in 2011 — is tipped to go to trial later this year.
Gaga has been left steaming — and branded her a “f****** hood rat who is suing me for money that she didn’t earn”.
The superstar added: “She thinks she’s the queen of the universe.
“And, you know what, she didn’t want to be a slave to one, because in my work and what I do, I’m the queen of the universe every day.”
Lady Gaga with mum Cynthia
Going potty ... superstar Lady Gaga with mum Cynthia
Gaga’s former crew member said amid growing fears she is heading for a meltdown: “She is not afraid of firing people.
“The way things have turned so sour now shows how Gaga will spit people out without a second thought.” The singer — who last year earned more the £50million to top the list of highest-paid celebs under 30 — is also embroiled in other legal battles.
They include a bitter war to prevent “harmful” details of a lawsuit between her former collaborator Wendy Starland and ex-boyfriend and producer Rob Fusari being made public.
Gaga is also being sued for £20million by a French artist called Orlan who is accusing the singer of plagiarism.
Last week the singer unveiled plans to release her long-awaited new album Artpop in November — in an announcement that was blasted as one of the most pretentious in music history.
She pompously promised the album will “bring art culture into pop in a reverse Warholian expedition.” Fans were told the release — to be accompanied by an app — would allow them to “share in the adrenalin of fame”.
It was all a far cry from her roots in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where she was born into a typical Italian-American New York family — the daughter of entrepreneur Joe and his wife Cynthia.
Before becoming world-famous she battled drug problems.
Her pal said: “She had a really dark spell where she was drinking too much and taking a lot of cocaine.
“She was a real mess. You would never have guessed she would turn into an international superstar.”
The friend said Gaga still resorts to boozing heavily from time to time, adding: “She went through a spell of drinking a lot of Scotch. That probably had something to do with impressing a boy.”

Laid bare: Her £52m earnings

SHE may look loopy but Lady Gaga is a shrewd businesswoman — estimated to be worth £52million.
The dosh started rolling in with international hits such as Just Dance and Poker Face from her 2008 debut album The Fame.
Worldwide she has sold an estimated 23million albums and a whopping 64million singles.
But even more lucrative have been her hugely-successful tours.
Other ventures include collaborating with Polaroid and with Monster Cable Products — to create a pair of in-ear jewel-encrusted headphones titled Heartbeats.
Like most pop stars Gaga also coins it by flogging plenty of merchandise.
A Lady Gaga Bitch Teeth T-shirt costs £25.

Sunday, July 28, 2013


My year of hell behind bars in Bali's Hotel K: Convent girl convicted over £1.6m cocaine bust reveals vicious beatings drove her to breaking point...but was she a drug baron’s moll or the innocent she claims to be?

  • Rachel Dougall was sentenced to 12 months for failing to report a crime
  • She was jailed in Bali's notorious and squalid Kerobokan Prison
  • Dougall has spoken publicly for the first time after returning to Britain
  • Mother-of-one has told how she suffered a nervous breakdown in prison  
Shattered: Rachel Dougall pictured back at home in Brighton after spending a year in Bali's most notorious prison
Shattered: Rachel Dougall pictured back at home in Brighton after spending a year in Bali's most notorious prison
Cowering on a wafer-thin floor mat in an Indonesian prison, Rachel Dougall could do little but cover her face with her hands as a six-foot woman prisoner viciously punched and kicked her. 
The convent school-educated mother-of-one was only days into a year-long sentence connected to  a £1.6 million cocaine smuggling ring when she was attacked by one of the 14 inmates crammed into her tiny cell. 
It was the first of several savage beatings she endured in Bali’s notorious and squalid Kerobokan Prison, nicknamed ‘Hotel K’, before being released in May this year.
Speaking publicly for the first time since she was deported back to Britain, Dougall, 40, reveals that she suffered a nervous breakdown after being locked up with drug addicts, HIV-positive inmates and sexually aggressive lesbians. She developed scabies and says she nearly died of pneumonia, spending a week in hospital.
It may be hard to sympathise with a woman who was accused of trying to smuggle just over 10lbs of cocaine from Bangkok to Bali – albeit that her sentence was for the minor charge of failing to report a crime. 
It’s also true she has a vested interest in speaking out against alleged accomplice Lindsay Sandiford – a 57-year-old Gloucestershire grandmother sentenced to death for smuggling – who Dougall insists was the mastermind behind the plot.
But this interview marks a new twist in a case that has left the ageing housewife on death row – and the British judiciary powerless to help. Three leading judges expressed ‘great sympathy’ with Sandiford but ruled that the Government was not acting unlawfully in refusing to pay for her appeal against the death penalty. 
Police originally believed that Dougall’s childhood sweetheart Julian Ponder, a 44-year-old former antiques restorer, was the brains behind the British drug syndicate that became known as the ‘Gang  of Four’. 
But the case collapsed after Dougall, Ponder and the final member of the group, Paul Beales, claimed they had been set up by Sandiford.
‘She’s not the innocent she would like people to believe,’ Dougall says. ‘Everyone thinks she’s this poor naive granny, but she’s not. She doesn’t deserve any sympathy; I’ve been told by many people in Bali and Britain that she’s been bringing drugs into the country for 25 years.’
Sandiford gave evidence against the others after being caught at Bali’s airport with a suitcase full of cocaine on May 19 last year. 
Ponder, who became known as the ‘King of Bali’ for his imperious manner, is currently serving six years for possession of three quarters of an ounce of cocaine, which was found in the luxury villa he shared with Dougall. Beales, 41, was sentenced to four years for possession.
Rachel Dougall pictured in holding cell as she waited to be sentenced in Bali last year
Rachel Dougall describes her alleged accomplice, 57-year-old grandmother, Lindsay Sandiford as pure evil
Rachel Dougall, pictured left in holding cell as she waited to be sentenced in Bali last year, describes her alleged accomplice, 57-year-old grandmother, Lindsay Sandiford, pictured right, as pure evil 
Poor conditions: Kerobakan Prison in Bali, where Ms Dougall was held, has frequent floods
Poor conditions: Kerobakan Prison in Bali, where Ms Dougall was held, has frequent floods
Dougall insists she pleaded guilty to failing to report a drug-connected crime only because the authorities had promised she would not serve a prison sentence. 
‘I was totally innocent, but they said that if I co-operated I would be free to stay with my daughter Kitty, who was six at the time,’ she says. ‘But they lied and caged me up like an animal.’
She also criticises the hypocrisy of a country that will put people to death by firing squad for using or selling drugs, yet allows substances such as crystal meth and crack cocaine to be freely used inside the prison system.
 
‘Most of the women were on drugs virtually every day. If you had money the guards would get you anything you wanted. Inmates in the men’s prison next door even paid prostitutes for overnight visits.’
Now reunited with Kitty in Brighton, where she grew up, Dougall says her life has been shattered and even claims that she lives in fear after receiving death threats from the woman known as the ‘Bali Granny’.  
Horror: Rachel Dougall says this picture was taken of her in Kerobakan Prison, Bali, after bullying inmates forcibly dressed her up
Horror: Rachel Dougall says this picture was taken of her in Kerobakan Prison, Bali, after bullying inmates forcibly dressed her up
This image is strikingly at odds with the popular one of a vulnerable Sandiford weeping as she knits in jail, and Rachel adds, ‘That woman is pure evil. Her story about being coerced is rubbish. She wants the public to think she did it out of fear for her children’s lives, but that’s a total lie. 
‘She’s not some tragic pawn doing it under duress. She blames me for her downfall and says she will have me killed. I’ve been told my life and my child’s life are at risk.’
The youngest of seven children, Dougall always wanted to settle down in Asia – even though she hates the food. It was a dream she would share with Ponder, whom she first met as an impressionable 16-year-old schoolgirl when he visited friends in Brighton. 
He frequently came to the seaside town because his mother, a retired antiques dealer, was living in nearby Lewes. Twelve years ago, Dougall moved to be with him in London, where they rented homes in fashionable areas in Chelsea. Ponder, she says, made a good living selling expensive watches and as a property developer.
They travelled often and lived in India for a while. But it was Bali that captivated them. After Kitty was born, Dougall decided she wanted her daughter to grow up there. 
‘It was my idea to move there two-and-a-half years ago,’ she says. ‘It was the beginning of a dream. We had a three-bedroom villa with a large swimming pool and marble floors. Life was wonderful and it was a great place for a child.’
But life on the tropical paradise island turned sour on May 25 last year, Kitty’s sixth birthday. ‘We were preparing for a party the following day with a friend who had come over to help out. I decided to go to Echo Beach to get some food from Sticky Fingers, but as I headed for my car, I was suddenly surrounded by about 12 Indonesian police officers screaming at me. 
Caught: Sandiford, pictured, gave evidence against the others after being caught at Bali¿s airport with a suitcase full of cocaine on May 19 last year
Caught: Sandiford gave evidence against the others after being caught, pictured, at Bali¿s airport with a suitcase full of cocaine on May 19 last year
Ms Dougall pictured with her childhood sweetheart and fellow suspect Julian Ponder who was originally believed by police to be the brains behind the drug syndicate
Suspects: Ms Dougall pictured with her childhood sweetheart and fellow suspect Julian Ponder who was originally believed by police to be the brains behind the drug syndicate
‘It was so scary. I didn’t realise that Julian had been held elsewhere or that the whole thing had begun with Sandiford being stopped at the airport with a suitcase full of drugs.  She apparently implicated me and Julian, who had been her friend for 20 years, as part of some gang.’
Dougall says she had only met Sandiford a few times and once invited her to stay in the villa for a week. ‘I didn’t really know her and would never have broken the law,’ she insists. ‘If I had had any inkling that she was involved in drugs I would never have let her near my home and my child. My daughter is everything to me.’
Implicated: Rachel's partner Julian Ponder pictured in custody in Bali a year ago
Implicated: Rachel's partner Julian Ponder pictured in custody in Bali a year ago
Dougall was bundled into her house and handcuffed to a chair while a terrified Kitty cried hysterically. She says she went white with shock when police searching the child’s bedroom discovered a cigarette box containing cocaine.
‘They said it was Julian’s, but I had not seen it before. I was shocked and very angry to think that anyone could have been stupid enough to put something potentially lethal in my child’s room.’
She knew she was in serious trouble. ‘Drugs in Bali are such a big thing. You just don’t do it. There is a big sign as you walk through the airport warning that the penalty is death. I would never dream of doing drugs, let alone be involved.’
Just before midnight they brought Ponder to the villa and searched the house again. Another box containing cocaine was found in the couple’s bedroom, stashed inside a handbag Dougall had not used in months. She believes the police planted it. 
‘I have never seen Julian do cocaine, so I did not believe  it was his. I smoke cigarettes but I had never seen those boxes before. They were never even dusted for fingerprints.’
Held in a bug-infested 18ft by 12ft police cell with more than a dozen other women, including Sandiford, Dougall was desperate not to be separated from her child and agreed to co-operate with the police. Conditions were harsh. The toilet was a hole in the ground and they shared one sink, in which they washed. ‘When it rained the sewage would overflow into the area and the smell was unbearable,’ Dougall says. ‘Invariably, I was caught short when the worst of the effluence was coming through.’ 
Dougall says she was equally terrified of Sandiford and of facing a  firing squad. ‘That woman threatened to have me killed and I was seriously intimidated by her size. She has got a foul mouth and can be very aggressive.
Low point: Dougall, pictured in her cell, said she contemplated suicide but thoughts of her daughter Kitty kept her going
Low point: Dougall, pictured in her cell, said she contemplated suicide but thoughts of her daughter Kitty kept her going
Suspect: Paul Beales, right, has also been arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking
Suspect: Paul Beales, right, was also arrested and later sentenced to four years in prison for possession
‘I didn’t eat or sleep for a week,’ she recalls. ‘I was angry at Julian because I only got involved with Sandiford because of him, so we broke up. 
‘I think she set us up as fall guys because they promised her some kind of deal to avoid the death penalty. She was probably lied to as much as I was. But in her case she deserves everything she gets.’
Dougall was so shocked by her one-year sentence that she collapsed and had to be held up by two woman guards. Her daughter visited her in prison ‘about half a dozen times, but it was heart-wrenching for us both. She couldn’t understand why I wasn’t coming home and she had to be dragged away screaming. Afterwards I had to be sedated because I was so agitated. In the end I told my parents to take her back to Britain.’ 
She was then kept in the dark about her mother’s whereabouts until she returned to the UK.
Life in the notorious Hotel K was so appalling that Dougall contemplated suicide. ‘I got beaten up a few times because the press called me the “Queen of Bali”. I would cover up my face and take the beatings as they punched and kicked me.
Ordeal: Dougall, pictured behind bars in Bali, says she was locked up with drug addicts, HIV-positive inmates and sexually aggressive lesbians
Ordeal: Dougall, pictured behind bars in Bali, says she was locked up with drug addicts, HIV-positive inmates and sexually aggressive lesbians
Dougall's former partner Ponder, pictured leaving his Bali cell, is serving six years for drugs possession
Dougall's former partner Ponder, pictured leaving his Bali cell, is serving six years for drugs possession
She says, ‘The first occasion was by some South African who was addicted to crystal meth and beat the hell out of me one night. Sandiford would scream abuse and threats whenever our paths crossed – which I tried to ensure wasn’t very often.
‘I thought about killing myself many times, but what kept me going was my lovely daughter. I didn’t want to leave her without a mother. Knowing she was waiting at the end of my year gave me the strength.’
Drug use was rife. ‘It’s lawless. Some of my cellmates were addicts and would get strung out. They tried to force me to do crack and meth, but I resisted, even when they pushed the crack pipe into my face.’
Dougall’s physical condition continued to deteriorate. Her weight fell from about 9 st 4 lb to 7 st 1 lb and  her once-thick auburn hair fell out in clumps.
‘I kept getting ill – I nearly died after collapsing with pneumonia in February this year. The British Embassy didn’t want to know. They refused to pay for my treatment.’
Accusation: Lindsay Sandiford, 56, who accused Ms Dougall of being part of a British 'gang of four' cocaine smuggling syndicate, sits in her cell knitting while on death row in Kerobokan prison
Accusation: Lindsay Sandiford, 56, who accused Ms Dougall of being part of a British 'gang of four' cocaine smuggling syndicate, sits in her cell knitting while on death row in Kerobokan prison
 Home: This is the villa where Rachel Dougall and Julian Ponder were living before they were arrested
Home: This is the villa where Rachel Dougall and Julian Ponder were living before they were arrested
She also claims an aggressive lesbian who ‘ran’ the block made frequent sexual advances. 
‘Because I rebuffed her, she would force me to dress up in leather or other fancy clothes and dance like a stripper while the other women laughed and pushed me around. I was humiliated.’
Dougall, one of six white women  in a prison population of 286, says sexual assaults were commonplace and that she fought off several attempts by both the male guards and some inmates: ‘I did what I had to do in order to stay alive.’ 
She insists that, although she is no longer involved with Julian, she has no doubt of his innocence. ‘I’ve racked my brains and tried to remember if there were signs that I missed, but I don’t think so. I just cannot believe he would be stupid enough to put our child’s future at risk in such a way.
‘His crime was knowing a woman who is evil. And I suppose if I’m truthful I don’t rule out the possibility that we might get back together in the future. 
‘But who knows? I’m gutted that my dream of living in paradise ended so tragically. I love Bali, but I’ll never set foot there again.’
Free: Rachel Dougall pictured in Brighton earlier this month after being released from prison in Bali after a year
Free: Rachel Dougall pictured in Brighton earlier this month after being released from prison in Bali after a year
Back home: Rachel Dougall pictured on a yacht in Brighton Marina after spending 12 months a Bali prison for drugs offences
Back home: Rachel Dougall pictured on a yacht in Brighton Marina after spending 12 months a Bali prison for drugs offences


The comments below have been moderated in advance.
Zero sympathy.
Click to rate     Rating   104
At 40 she's hardly a 'covent girl'...
Click to rate     Rating   87
Greedy people got what they deserve.
Click to rate     Rating   76
Silly season, looks like a need to fill inches, cant blame you dm
Click to rate     Rating   8
The picture of the 'villa' in Bali looks to me like the servants' quarters of a much larger villa.I think the camera may need to turn 180 degrees for a view of their actual villa! And I don't like to judge, but everyone here is right: where did the only for that lifestyle come from? Suspicious.
Click to rate     Rating   49
This feature is inaccurate as it leaves out vital information. It does not mention the fact that she would have bribed The police to get a leaner sentence. It is common knowledge that you need money to get out of trouble in Bali. Both her and her partner would have paid police thousands of pounds to be in the lucky situation they are in that they got very light sentences and are spared the death sentence. Whether they are guilty or not the fact that the Sandiford is on death sentence is only because she can't afford to bribe the police or get a good lawyer. I don't really care who did what but this is sloppy journalism and doesn't give the whole true picture so what is the point of it? Charlotte , London
Click to rate     Rating   62
To all the people who are suggesting that Rachel Dougall essentially deserved this treatment: your views are abhorrent. It does sound likely that she was involved in the drugs trade, and for that by the law, she does deserve punishment. However, this woman suffered repeated violent beatings, and frequent sexual assault (including by prison guards). As she says in reference to the latter "I did what I had to do in order to stay alive." How on earth is this just and proper punishment?! Going so far as to celebrate this kind of treatment suggests that we are becoming not just calloused but sadistic. Prisons should be about punishment, correction, and for most, rehabilitation. Brutalising acts will not result in better people, but will perpetuate evil in this world. Two wrongs most certainly do not make a right.
Click to rate     Rating   24
Yes & I believe in Santa & the Tooth fairy.....
Click to rate     Rating   48
People who lie down with dirty dogs, get fleas.
Click to rate     Rating   68
She complained about prison in Bali Indonesia, she was lucky she didn't get arrested in Singapore, Malaysia....she would have been hanged there or in Thailand.
Click to rate     Rating   53
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