Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the UK, has been granted a posthumous conditional pardon.
Ellis was hanged at London’s Holloway Prison in 1955 after being convicted of murdering her lover David Blakely.
Her family have campaigned for her murder conviction to be overturned, arguing she was a victim of domestic abuse and was physically and emotionally abused by Blakely before shooting him.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told MPs the King had granted the pardon, saying that the death penalty had been replaced with a sentence of life imprisonment.
Ellis’ granddaughter Laura Enston welcomed the news and said: “The shadow of Ruth’s execution has fallen across two generations. We have carried shame that was never ours to bear.”
Nightclub hostess and mother of two children aged three and 10-years-old, Ellis, from Rhyl, Denbighshire, shot Blakely outside The Magdala pub in Hampstead, London, following a tumultuous relationship involving infidelity on both sides.
Ellis had an abortion, which was illegal in the UK at the time, and was physically abused by the racing driver – including being punched in the stomach during an argument that led to a miscarriage.
The judge told the jury in her case to disregard the fact that the mother-of-two had been “badly treated by her lover” as a defence.
Her case provoked a public outcry and occurred two years before legal changes saw diminished responsibility introduced as a defence.
The story of her relationship with Blakely was turned into the 1985 film Dance with a Stranger starring Miranda Richardson and Rupert Everett.
PA MediaOn Wednesday in the House of Commons, Labour MP Pam Cox asked Lammy for the pardon on behalf of her grandchildren, who were watching proceedings from the public gallery.
She said: “Her case serves as a haunting reminder of a time when our justice system ignored the realities of domestic abuse and coercive control.
“In the decades since, members of Ruth’s family and supporters have campaigned unwaveringly for her to receive a posthumous pardon.
“Will the deputy prime minister agree with me that their courageous campaign, and the terrible lessons of Ruth’s case, must strengthen the government’s resolve to free women from devastating cycles of abuse?”
Lammy responded: “I have the honour to say that His Majesty the King has accepted our advice to grant Ruth Ellis a conditional pardon, the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom.
“While the pardon does not claim she was innocent of killing David Blakely, it replaces the death penalty with a sentence of life imprisonment to recognise a profound injustice in this exceptional case.”
The King has the power to grant pardons or commute sentences, which in practice is used only when the government requests it.
He added: “We hope this brings a measure of peace to Ruth Ellis’ family, who have carried the weight of what happened to her for over 70 years.”
Ellis’ granddaughter Laura Enston said that although the impact of the sentence on her family could not be undone, she felt justice had been done after 70 years.
“Ruth was a victim of sustained and brutal abuse. Her children – our mother and uncle – never recovered,” she said.
“My uncle took his own life. My mother’s trauma left her unable to be the parent we needed.
“The shadow of Ruth’s execution has fallen across two generations. We have carried shame that was never ours to bear.”
“We hope Ruth’s story serves as a lasting reminder that the justice system must reckon with the abuse that drives women to the edge – and must never be afraid to acknowledge when it has got things wrong.”
In interviews last year, Enston said the impact of domestic abuse was poorly understand at the time of Ellis’ conviction and, had the trial happened now, her grandmother would have been treated very differently by the justice system.
Part of the issue had been Ellis’ appearance, Enson told AFP last year, because the glamorous single mother showed no emotion during her trial, at which the jury took just 14 minutes to find her guilty.
“She inadvertently played up to that sort of cold-blooded killer persona that she’d been portrayed to be, but knowing what we know now about trauma and slow-burn provocation, Ruth was traumatised… and typical of domestic abuse victims,” Enston said.
The abuse included an incident 10 days before the killing in April 1955 when Ellis suffered a miscarriage after Blakely, the baby’s father, punched her in the stomach.
Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Catherine Atkinson said: “I want to thank her grandchildren for their determination in bringing this case forward, and for making sure her story was finally heard.”
Katy Colton, a partner at law firm Mishcon de Reya, who acted for Ellis’ grandchildren, called the pardon a landmark moment.
“Today’s decision does not only right a wrong done over 70 years ago.
“It sends a clear signal about the aspirations of our justice system. Violence against women and girls remains a national emergency.
“The government’s public acknowledgement that the abuse Ruth Ellis endured should have impacted the outcome of her case reflects an important principle: that survivors of domestic abuse today deserve a justice system that properly understands and recognises the impact of that abuse.”
The death penalty was abolished as the punishment for murder in 1965 and the last executions took place in 1964, when two men were hanged for murder.
Sourse: BBC
