The sister of terminally-ill prison inmate Godfrey Ellul, who is serving a 20-year sentence for drug dealing, was stunned to learn her brother's parole request has been turned down. Medical reports indicate he only has a few months left to live, Betta Ellul said. "I really believed Godfrey would be granted parole because the doctors made it very clear that he was terminal. "It was agonising waiting every day for news, hoping against hope that he would be shown some mercy," she said, fighting back tears. Mr Ellul, 67, a former drug addict, has six years of his sentence left to serve and is not yet eligible to apply for parole but for the fact he has a terminal illness. In those cases inmates can be considered for early parole. In a reaction to the family's plea, however, a spokeswoman for the Home Affairs Ministry said there "is no legal provision of release from prison on compassionate grounds". The liaison officer appointed by the parole board started the parole-request process in July, after Mr Ellul was diagnosed with lung cancer. In August, Mr Ellul had to have an operation to have one of his lungs removed and then spent over three months at Mater Dei Hospital after...
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