The last woman to be hanged in the UK, Ruth Ellis, has been granted a posthumous conditional pardon by the King, the government announced on Wednesday. The Ministry of Justice described the move as 'an act of mercy recognising the historic injustice of the death penalty in this exceptional case'.
Background of the Case
Ruth Ellis, a 28-year-old nightclub manageress and mother of two, was executed on July 13, 1955, after being convicted of murdering her boyfriend, David Blakely. She shot him outside a pub in Hampstead, London. Her trial and execution drew widespread attention and have been the subject of ongoing debate.
The application for a pardon was brought by four of Ellis's grandchildren. The Ministry of Justice stated that the application 'presented that her responsibility was profoundly shaped by domestic abuse, trauma and circumstances that were never properly recognised at her trial'.
Government Announcement
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, speaking in the House of Commons, said: '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.'
Under modern law, it is possible that Ellis could have argued partial defences such as loss of control or diminished responsibility, which might have reduced her conviction from murder to manslaughter. The Ministry of Justice noted that a jury could have considered these defences had the case been heard today.
Family Reaction
Reacting to the news, Ellis's family said 'justice has finally been done' after a long campaign. Her granddaughter, Laura Enston, said: 'Today, justice has finally been done for our grandmother, Ruth Ellis – the last woman to be hanged in England in 1955. This pardon does not undo what happened 71 years ago. It does not restore the lives that were broken - the children left behind, the years lost. But it says, formally and finally, that Ruth should not have been executed; that the justice system failed her. That acknowledgement matters profoundly to our family.'
Enston added: 'Ruth was a victim of sustained and brutal abuse. Her children - our mother and uncle - never recovered. 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.'
Ministerial Statements
Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls, Catherine Atkinson, said: 'For seventy years, Ruth Ellis’s family have carried the weight of what happened to her. Today we recognise the exceptional circumstances surrounding her case and the impact they had on her life. I want to thank her grandchildren for their determination in bringing this case forward, and for making sure her story was finally heard.'
The Royal Prerogative of Mercy is one of the historic prerogative powers of the Crown and is exercised by His Majesty the King on ministerial advice. A conditional pardon does not affect the conviction itself but substitutes the sentence imposed by the court with a lesser penalty. In this case, it replaces the death penalty with a sentence of life imprisonment.
