The mothers of two Myanmar men sentenced to death for the murder of a pair of British backpackers in Thailand today submitted a plea for clemency from the Thai king.
Migrant workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun were convicted of the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and the killing of David Miller, 24.
Their battered bodies were found on a beach in the diving resort island of Koh Tao in September 2014.
Lawyers said the evidence used to convict the men was unreliable, but appeals were exhausted in August.
“By giving them the death penalty, they will lose the opportunity to do something good with their lives,” lawyer Nadthasiri Bergman said when she joined the two mothers to submit the clemency request in Bangkok. “They deserve a second chance.”
It is unclear when the sentence will be carried out, with hundreds remaining on death row.
Last year Thailand carried out its first execution since 2009.
