The father of slain British backpacker David Miller has said he does not want the men convicted of his murder to get the death penalty.
Ian Miller told the Jersey Evening Post that although he was sure Myanmar migrant workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun were guilty of killing his son, he did not endorse the death penalty for them.
“The message we want to get across is that there has been enough death,” he told the newspaper, adding that his family had been vilified by internet users for supporting the conviction.
Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun were convicted of the murder of Miller and of the rape and murder of fellow Brit Hannah Witheridge on Koh Tao in September 2014.
They received death sentences from a Koh Samui court last month.
The investigation into the case and court verdict have been widely criticised, with many claiming the two Myanmar nationals had been used as scapegoats by the Thai justice system.
Hundreds of people protested outside the Thai embassy in Yangon while hackers attacked Thai police and court websites.
David Miller’s brother Michael read a statement after the verdict, saying “justice… has been delivered” and that the family believed “the correct verdict has been reached”.
However Hannah Witheridge’s family were more circumspect immediately afterwards, saying they needed time “to digest the outcome of the trial” and “figure out the most appropriate way to tell our story”.
Hannah’s sister Laura last week posted a note on her Facebook slamming Thai authorities over the “bungled” investigation into the murders. The note has since been removed.
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