by MARIA BRADSHAW

THE LACK of a parole system in Barbados could affect the early release of Barbadian Julia Yves Elliott who is serving a seven-year sentence in Canada for unlawfully killing her former lover.

The SUNDAY SUN understands that Elliott, who was convicted after pleading guilty to manslaughter in 2005, is due for parole as early as July/August.

But Canadian authorities may be in a quandary because while they want to release her, they were hoping she could be returned
to Barbados and undergo the necessary monitoring here.

The SUNDAY SUN understands that the authorities first made enquiries with the Barbados Consulate in Canada, which referred the matter to the police
in Barbados.

Ministry investigating

The situation is now being investigated by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs.

When contacted, Permanent Secretary Teresa Marshall confirmed that the ministry was in receipt of correspondence from Canada asking what systems Barbados had in place for parole.

"In the parole report, freedom
is monitored. They wanted
to know if she could come under
a certain supervisory system
of parole in Barbados. It is a question of finding out the appropriate supervision.

"The problem is
we do not have a system
of parole here," Marshall said, adding that the matter was being investigated between Barbadian and Canadian authorities.

The SUNDAY SUN understands that one of the suggestions from Canada was placing an electronic monitoring device on Elliott.

Last October former
Attorney-General Dale Marshall said the ministry was in the
process of testing a pilot
conditional release and parole project which would have led
to the release of 30 inmates.

That has not materialised.

Elliott, 47, was first accused
in 1995 of killing 64-year-old Lawrence Foster and dismembering his body. The body parts were
found floating in a river after a massive search.

She was on remand in
Canada for about four years
and then subsequently freed
by a judge during a sensational murder trial.

The judge had found that the prosecution and police had committed more than 150 constitutional violations
against her.

Elliott, a masseuse, returned
to Barbados in 2000 but while she was here, Canadian authorities were trying to get her back to Canada for a second trial after the Appeals Court overturned the judges' decision to release her.

In 2005 Elliott was arrested in Costa Roca on an Interpol warrant and extradited to Canada for the
second murder trial.

This time around she entered into a plea bargain with the prosecution and pleaded
guilty to manslaughter. She
was sentenced to seven years
in prison.

At that time Elliott, who was incarcerated at the Grand Valley Institute for Women in Ontario,
told the DAILY NATION that accepting the plea bargain
placed her "between a rock
and a hard place", but that she wanted to be part of the lives
of her daughter and grandson
who live in Barbados.

mariabradshaw
@nationnews.com