Known in Indonesia’s penal system as “The Death Row Gospel Singer,” Mr. Oyatanze was arrested in 2001 while trying to smuggle 5.5 pounds of heroin through Jakarta’s international airport, in his
stomach, after arriving on a flight from Pakistan. He was convicted the following year and sentenced to death.
Mr. Oyatanze made the most of his incarceration, writing more than 70 songs and recording multiple albums behind bars. He has performed with prison guards as well as fellow inmates.
In the Youtube video, shot in 2008, Mr. Oyatanze sang his song “God You Know,” which was also the name of an album he released that year.
“He has turned his life around in jail,” said the Rev. Charles Burrows, a Catholic priest from Ireland who now lives in Indonesia and offered religious counseling to Mr. Oyatanze before his execution yesterday.
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