The Australian lawyers representing Fijian coup leader...

The Australian lawyers representing Fijian coup leader George Speight and his band of men spent a "terrible, sleepless night" after agreeing to a plea bargain in which Speight would plead guilty to the capital offence of treason so his men would receive lesser sentences.
West Australia-based criminal lawyer Jack Flanigan revealed to The Australian how he and barrister Ron Cannon cut the deal with prosecutors, knowing it was a risky strategy which could unravel at any moment.
"It's all very well to say in hindsight that it was never a concern, but a mandatory death sentence is a serious matter," Flanigan said.
"As lawyers we're totally opposed to the death penalty in any form, and to find yourself in a situation where you are supporting a plea of guilty to a mandatory death penalty doesn't fit very comfortably.
He said once the plea was delivered and the judge put on his "black hat" to deliver the death penalty, the outcome was out of the court's hands and became a political decision.
Although they had a petition ready to deliver to the Prerogative of Mercy Commission, they had a long wait before they heard that Fijian president Ratu Josefa Iloilo had commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment.
"It was very tense. It was an extremely long and anxious wait," Flanigan said.