THE dealer who supplied the drugs that killed 16-year-old Daniel Spargo-Mabbs must be given help in prison to change his ways, the teenager's mother has said.
Nicqueel Pitrora, 18, faces jail after he admitted supplying ecstasy to the Addiscombe schoolboy and his friends ahead of an illegal rave on January 17.
Daniel later collapsed at the unlicensed event in Hayes, west London, and died in hospital.
Ryan Kirk, 21, was acquitted last Friday of being involved in supplying the drug following a trial at Isleworth Crown Court.
Pitrora, of London Road, West Croydon, initially denied being concerned with the supply of Class A drugs, but changed his plea on the first day of the trial.
Superintendent Des Rock, who led the investigation, said Pitrora was "very much responsible for coordinating the drugs deal" but had "shown little remorse and has failed to understand the consequences of his actions".
Despite this, Daniel's mother Fiona told the Advertiser her family bear Pitrora no "ill-will" because his life had also been damaged by drugs - a "massive evil in our society".
"We don't hate Nicqueel Pitrora," she said. "Nor do we hold him solely responsible for Dan's death.
"But, nevertheless, he played a very significant role in what happened and we pray that he will be able to make that connection and, in making it, that he will stop doing this."
Pitrora, who told the court he had passed on the request for drugs rather than supplying them himself, could face as much as seven and a half years in jail when he is sentenced next Friday (August 1).
Mrs Spargo-Mabbs says, while a custodial sentence is right option, it must include some form of rehabilitation programme, beginning with understanding his role in Daniel's death.
"What we've always wanted from this process is for those who were responsible to be convicted but, more than that, we want them to stop doing what they are doing because it is a waste of their lives as well as the lives of those they are selling the drugs to," she said.
"Pitrora may not have set out to harm Daniel, but he sold drugs to schoolchildren. He is the man who put the drugs in the bag that killed my son.
"Unless he is able to see he was part of [Daniel's death], he's unlikely to change. That's what we want from him.
"It's good that he will be off the streets for a while, but only if it is combined with some sort of education or programme.
"We need to help people involved in the supply of drugs to understand that what they're doing causes a great deal of harm.
"Daniel believed very much that prison should be about change, not punishment; about helping people to live better lives and make better choices.
"Otherwise it's time off the streets but, in the long term, he's likely to go out and do it again."
Following the tragedy, the family set up the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation, which aims, among other goals, to educate young people about the dangers of drugs.
Mrs Spargo-Mabbs said the trauma of last week's trial had reinforced how important that message is.
"I looked around the courtroom and thought about the damage drugs do to young lives," she said.
"You have these two young men in the dock, with others having to stand witness, and Daniel's death, and the effect that has had on all of his friends. To think of all those young lives that have been damaged by drugs."
Following next week's sentencing, Fiona and Tim, Daniel's father, are looking forward to concentrating on the foundation's work.
"We both feel it's the next chapter," said Mrs Spargo-Mabbs. "The trial has been hanging over me and I've found it incredibly stressful. I'm just so pleased that's now behind us."
