A seriously ill drug dealer has been spared an immediate prison term by a judge as an “act of mercy” after a court heard that he faced an uncertain future.
Delroy Newell has a type of blood cancer called T cell lymphoma and has been undergoing chemotherapy while on remand in prison, Ipswich Crown Court heard.
After hearing that Newell might only live for two months if the latest treatment failed, Judge Martyn Levett said that as an act if mercy he would take an exceptional course and pass a suspended prison sentence.
Newell, 50, of a London, admitted possessing heroin with intent to supply in May and was given a two year prison sentence suspended for two years.
Police who went to premises in Wherstead Road, Ipswich, found Newell with 13 wraps of heroin and two larger amounts of the drug.
Roger Thomson, for Newell, said his client had been told he had two months to live if the treatment didn’t work.
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