As hard as it was for her to accept her sentence, Sara Connor has expressed her appreciation to the panel of judges in a Bali court who jailed her for four years.
The 46-year-old Byron Bay woman and her British DJ boyfriend David Taylor were last month found guilty of the fatal group assault of Bali police officer Wayan Sudarsa in August last year.
They were jailed for four and six years respectively - a relatively light punishment given the maximum sentence for fatal group assault in Indonesia is 12 years.
However prosecutors have appealed Connor's sentence to the High Court, which could result in judges imposing a harsher punishment.
In a six page response to the appeal, seen by Fairfax Media, Connor, who maintained her innocence throughout the trial, said she "really appreciated" the decision by the Denpasar District Court.
"The decision I believe was a reflection of the sense of justice of the people of Indonesia, especially for the Balinese people and more particularly the victim's family, even though it was very hard for me to accept it," Connor wrote.
"I am a single mother with two children who need my attention as a parent. The four years was something that was very hard for me and my children."
Connor said she appreciated the position of the victim's family and apologised to his widow, Ketut Arsini. "I sincerely apologise for what happened, something I also didn't want to happen," she said.
Mr Sudarsa's battered and bloodied body was found on Kuta beach on August 17 last year with 42 injuries.
The court heard the Bali police officer of 35 years and Taylor had fought in the sand after the British DJ had accused him of stealing Connor's handbag.
Taylor, 35, from Halifax, admitted to bashing the police officer with weapons including a beer bottle smashed into the back of his head, but insisted he was acting in self defence.
However Connor said her only role had been to try and separate the brawling pair.
Prosecutor Agung Jayalantara told Fairfax Media last month prosecutors were appealing the decision because they had requested both Connor and Taylor face the same sentence - eight years' jail.
It is standard operating procedure for prosecutors to appeal in Indonesia if the sentence is less than two-thirds of that requested by prosecutors.
Despite being found guilty of the same crime as Taylor, Connor said it was not a discrepancy that she had been given a lesser sentence because what the two had done had been very different.
"David being sentenced to six years was fair because he was the one who hit the back of the victim's head, causing him to die, as per the forensic doctor's conclusion," Connor wrote.
"When what I did was just to separate the fight. Even though I was involved in the fight, the prosecutor has to see that nothing I did caused the victim's death."
Therefore, Connor said, she should not be given the same punishment. "In my opinion the sentence by the judges was not a discrepancy, but the right decision," she said.
"If it's the same punishment then it is very unfair for me, because it violates my rights, as I am being punished for an unintentional crime."
Connor said she had offered a donation to assist the victim's family and help lessen their burden but in the end it was not something they had accepted.
"David and I didn't intend or want the fight that caused Wayan Sudarsa's death. What I did at the time was to defend myself from something I saw as a threat."
The judges in the Denpasar District Court rejected key elements of Connor's defence including her claim that her only role in the police officer's death was to break up the fight.
Judge Wayan Sukanila said Connor was not trying to separate Taylor and Mr Sudarsa when she sat on top of the police officer but was trying to help Taylor and prevent the victim from fighting back.
He was equally sceptical about her claims that she cut up Mr Sudarsa's cards in order to protect him from identity theft, saying she instead acted out of guilt.
Connor said it was a "one-sided opinion" for the prosecutor to suggest she had not learned her lesson from the sentence.
"I, Sara Connor, personally feel very guilty," she said. The lesson she had learned from the incident, her life experience in Bali and the punishment imposed had been a bitter one that would last all her life.
Connor begged the High Court judges to give justice to her in accordance with the level of her mistake. "Let me learn from my mistake to be a better person. Give me also the chance to redeem myself," she said.
Prosecutor Agung Jayalantara said Connor's signed statement, which she submitted and signed herself rather than through lawyers, was the counter argument to their appeal.
"It's up to the High Court judges to consider which arguments they will consider," Mr Agung said.
"It's not an appeal by Sara, it's just an answer to the appeal we submitted."
The High Court is expected to rule on the appeal by the end of the month.
