VANCOUVER MAN JAILED AGAIN IN U.S. AS MERCY PLEA FAILS

Engineer Must Pay For 30-Year-Old Crime Despite Peaceful Life As Fugitive

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - A Vancouver man who was wanted for escaping custody on a
minor drug charge 28 years ago was dispatched back to the New York state
penal system yesterday, despite a tearful appeal from his wife and a
last-hour plea for clemency by his lawyer.

Allen Richardson, a 50-year-old engineer from upscale West Vancouver, must
go back to prison -- regardless of his upstanding behaviour since he was
convicted of selling $20 worth of LSD in 1970, a judge ruled.

"The decision I have made brings me no happiness," said Justice John
Connell of the Monroe County Court in Rochester, N.Y.

"But I am concerned about sending a message to people in the prison system
who escape custody, and the danger that poses to people who work in the
system and those outside it ... I think I have to continue with the
decision I made earlier."

Judge Connell agreed that Richardson, an accomplished professional who
works at the University of British Columbia, has proven his worth to
society and his community.

He noted the close to 150 letters of support and commendation he had
received from the defendant's friends and colleagues in Canada, most
begging him to exercise special consideration and release Richardson back
to Canada.

However, doing so would signal that it was acceptable to escape prison so
long as one lived a productive, peaceful life afterward, the judge said.

"If a person who escaped custody came before me who had less talents and
accomplishments than Mr. Richardson, should I then rule that that person
return to custody?" he asked. "I don't think that's a message I want to send."

Thin and drawn, Richardson arrived at court in handcuffs, surrounded by
bailiffs, even though he had come voluntarily to face the remainder of a 3
1/2-year sentence for selling drugs to an undercover police officer.

Following his conviction, he served six weeks in Attica Correctional
Facility before being transferred to a minimum-security work camp. He was
there for six weeks when 43 inmates and correctional officers were killed
during a riot at the Attica prison. He said he fled to Canada when a guard
told him he would have to return to Attica.

"You should know I did so out of fear," he told the judge.

U.S. authorities tracked down Richardson in 1998, only to find a man living
with a new identity and, by all indications, a new personality.

After escaping from prison, he slipped across the border, changed his name
and married a Canadian, restarting life as a low-key member of his
community and a loving husband.

Richardson fought unsuccessfully in court against an earlier order by Judge
Connell for him to return and finish his sentence.

He also abandoned an attempt to escape the sentence by declaring refugee
status, opting instead to depend on the discretion of the court and the
penal system.

Yesterday, he stood before the judge, attired like a professor in brown
tweed and a tie, declaring his need to "pay a debt to society."

At the time he sold the drugs, Richardson was an anti-Vietnam War protester
and a student at Rochester Technical Institute -- a life he told Judge
Connell he has long left behind.

"It's been a very difficult decision to pull myself away from my home, my
job, my community and most of all, my wife," he said in an even voice.

"I am not the same foolish, radical young man as I was when I was a
19-year-old flouting justice.

"I just hope the 30 years of my life in Canada will be weighed against the
need to ensure that justice is not thwarted."

Richardson's wife, Amalia, issued a more impassioned plea, describing her
husband as a critical source of support while she recovers from breast cancer.

"It's been a very long few months for us," she said, fighting back tears.

"But Allen voluntarily made the decision to come back here because he
believes that is the right thing to do. He's a very, very good man. He's a
great husband and he's really the only support I have."

Outside the courtroom, she said: "He doesn't deserve any more punishment.
But we accept what the judge says and hopefully we can then get on with our
lives, put it behind us."

Mrs. Richardson plans to remain in New York for a few days while her
husband is assessed at a prison reception centre. She will then fly home to
Vancouver.

The crisis in the couple's life has kept her from looking after her health,
she said.

Michael Kennedy, Mr. Richardson's U.S. lawyer, expects his client to be
assigned to a medium security prison rather than a maximum security
facility such as the one he was in at the time of his escape.

But if all goes well, he could serve only a fraction of the 15 to 19 months
remaining in his sentence before returning to Canada. Richardson will be
immediately eligible for parole, Mr. Kennedy predicted, and could be out
within "three or four months."

Then, under a special agreement with Canadian immigration and justice
officials, he will be allowed to return to Canada to complete the term of
his warrant.

Howard Relin, the Monroe County district attorney, applauded the decision.

"As a judge, he had a responsibility to say, 'Was the original sentence
that was imposed, given what the judge knew about the defendant at that
time, an appropriate and legal sentence?' The court has said that it was."

However, Mr. Relin acknowledged the special circumstances of the case,
saying his representatives will support Richardson at a parole hearing,
recommending he receive consideration for his exemplary life.