99 years Bangkok Hilton for teenage drug smuggler

Micheal Cornell, a 19 year old British youngster has been sentenced to 99 years Bangkok Hilton by a Thailand court, which translates in imprisoned for live at Klong Prem prison, nicknamed "The Bangkok Hilton".
The father of the British boy now starting to serve his 99 year "Bangkok Hilton" sentence in Thailand for drug smuggling said today he was "absolutely devastated" by the sentence past on his son.
Michael Connell, 19, was arrested at Bangkok Don Muang airport last November when 3400 class-1 ecstasy tablets were found hidden in 2 body lotion containers in his luggage.
Connell, from Bury, Greater Manchester, escaped the death sentence in Thailand, by admitting yesterday to the Bangkok court, that he was trying to smuggle 2,9 million Baht (US$ 74,500) worth of drugs into Thailand. The sentence passed on him yesterday, was 99 years imprisonment at the "Bangkok Hilton".
Micheal's father, Derek Connell, said the family had hoped for a sentence of only 25 years, after pleating guilty, and said they planned to appeal the judgment of the Bangkok court.
Derek Connell further said: "We had been told that the death penalty or live imprisonment would be reduced to only 50 years and even maybe to 25 years because of the young age of Micheal."
"But that didn't happen. Micheal admitted to his crime and the Thailand justice department hit him with the full 99 years. I'm devastated but what can we do? We will appeal the decision and just take it from there on.", Derek added
Mr Derek Connell, a 48-year-old British taxi driver, has visited his son only once in the prison in Thailand but could not be present for the sentencing yesterday. He was told the terrible news by a British Embassy official and has not been able to speak to his son since the sentence was passed yesterday.
He said his son, who is currently held at Klong Prem prison, which is dubbed the "Bangkok Hilton", writes regular letters to the family which describe the prison's conditions as "bad" but does not mention any further details.
"When I visited the "Bangkok Hilton" jail they take you to the prison area they want you to see, a little area which has tropical plants and little ponds with "Koi Carp" fish in them. But it is a complete different story in the actual jail. People who have seen the conditions say they are horrendous, worse than you can imagine Hell.", Derek Connell said.
Mr Connell, who lives in Bury, admits he believe his son tried to smuggled the drugs into Thailand to pay off a small debt.
He said: "Michael is 19 but has a mental age of a 14 old. From what I can gather, he got into debt, probably just a few hundred pounds, and he was persuaded to smuggle the tablets to Thailand to pay off the debt. Micheal is very naive and he has learning difficulties, so he was the perfect target for drug dealers that always need someone to do their dirty courier work.