DRUG MULE'S CASE GENERATED HEATED PUBLIC DEBATE

A convicted drug mule who was granted mercy from Manitoba's highest court
because he was suffering from terminal cancer has died.

Joseph Andrews, 63, passed away June 16 in British Columbia, where he was
allowed to return last year under house arrest to live out his final days,
family members told the Free Press yesterday.

His death marks the final chapter in a case which generated heated public
debate.

Andrews was convicted in 2003 of possession of cocaine for the purpose of
trafficking and sentenced to four years in prison, in addition to time
already served.

But the Manitoba Court of Appeal overturned the decision in April 2004 and
replaced it with a conditional sentence so Andrews could go home to die
after he appealed the sentence on compassionate grounds.

The Appeal Court said Andrew's current medical situation was more dire than
the one presented to the sentencing judge, which included diabetes, kidney
disease and cataracts. Andrews, a resident of Langley, B.C., was diagnosed
with colon cancer within days of being sentenced to prison.

He blamed shoddy medical care at the Winnipeg Remand Centre for failing to
detect the illness when he spoke to the Free Press last year from his
hospital bed.

Andrews had an extensive criminal record spanning four decades, including
previous drug convictions.

Andrews was arrested in February 2002 after Winnipeg police stopped his
vehicle on Portage Avenue just west of the Perimeter Highway.

Drug officers found two kilograms of cocaine hidden in a cooler behind the
seat, which they believe was destined for the local chapter of the Hells
Angels.

Police were tipped off about Andrews days earlier by an informant.