allowing him to serve half his prison sentence abroad in a rehabilitation clinic, if he gets accepted into a programme.

But if the 32-year-old man does not seek help, he will have to serve the entire three years of his sentence behind bars.

The unusual sentence came after Stephen Wilson pleaded to allow him to go abroad for drug rehabilitation.

"You have no idea what it's like to be driven by drugs,'' Wilson said. "It took a long look in the mirror and I had to reach rock bottom and be back in jail for me to admit I had a problem.'' He said a prison sentence at Westgate would not help him since the inmates had changed since the last time he was in prison.

"Inmates now have a different mentality,'' he explained. "There are only three topics of conversation in Westgate. One is drugs, which is what I'm trying to get away from. The second is sex, and since I'm not gay, I don't need to be around that and the third is how to get better at what they do, so they won't get caught.'' Although he admitted that some inmates were trying to better themselves, he said the "burning desire'' he had to better himself would be "extinguished'' if he stayed at Westgate.

Pointing out the rate of recidivism, he also said that the Westgate's programmes were "ineffective and inadequate''.

And Wilson's life-long friend offered to finance his treatment and pledged to accept responsibility for him while he is abroad getting help.

Wilson pleaded guilty in Magistrates' Court to two counts of breaking and entering last November. He was committed to the Supreme Court for sentencing.

Crown Counsel Wilhelm Bourne said Wilson broke into a Pembroke home, on Tablerock Avenue, sometime between November 2 and 3. He stole $636 in cash.

On November 6, Wilson broke into a home on North Shore Road, Pembroke, and stole a colour television and remote control.

Neither the money or the television was recovered. Wilson told Police he used the funds to by drugs.

Mr. Bourne said Wilson asked for nine other offences to be taken into account.

Wilson has previous convictions for dishonesty as well as breaking and entering and Mr. Bourne urged Chief Justice Austin Ward to hand down a prison sentence.

But Wilson's friend, George Scott Smith, of Pembroke, argued that prison would not help his friend beat his drug addiction.

"Westgate doesn't have any facilities to help him,'' Mr. Smith claimed.

"Westgate won't help him.

"I've looked into a facility and I'm willing to provide the funds for him to go there... I'd be willing to take him under my wing. I'd be willing to take responsibility for him.'' But Mr. Bourne argued there was no need for Wilson to go to Tennessee for treatment since Westgate would have a rehabilitation programme up an running by September.

After pointing out that Wilson had already spent ten months in custody, defence lawyer Mark Pettingill urged Mr. Justice Ward to give Wilson a break.

"He can get into a programme and he has a friend like Mr. Smith,'' he said.

Noting that no evidence was presented to the court about the treatment centre or that Wilson had been accepted into the programme, Mr. Justice Ward sentenced him to three years in prison.

But after 18 months of his sentence, Wilson could go abroad for treatment if he got accepted into a programme and serve the final 18 months at a rehabilitation centre.

"If he can't get into one, he will have to serve the rest of his sentence here,'' Mr. Justice Ward added. "If you get things into order, you can go abroad.'' He ordered that the ten months Wilson has spent in custody, be taken into account.