Bualoy Kothisit, 23, and Wichai Sonkhaoyai, 24, were sentenced to death after a speedy trial in January but won a reprieve this month after an appeal.

“The court commuted their death sentences on the ground that they had voluntarily confessed their crime,” lawyer Prompatchara Namuang said, adding that prosecutors could challenge the court’s decision and bring the case to the Supreme Court by December 7.

The two were found guilty of raping and killing Katherine Horton on Samui island on January 1, after drinking and watching pornography. They raped her and beat her with a beach umbrella before dumping her body at sea.

The victim’s mother Elizabeth had called for the pair to spend the rest of their lives in jail, saying her daughter would not have believed capital punishment an appropriate sentence.

International media attention to the murder case had prompted then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to call for the “harshest possible punishment” for the men, saying they had damaged Thailand’s image and its tourism industry.

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