The grandchildren of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, are calling for a posthumous pardon, arguing she was a victim of domestic abuse. Ellis was executed in 1955 for murdering her lover David Blakely, but her family says she suffered physical and emotional abuse before the killing.
Laura Enston, Ellis's granddaughter, said the execution had a devastating impact on the family. “My mother and uncle suffered from trauma from which neither of them were able to recover, and as grandchildren we have felt these ripple effects,” she said. Ellis shot Blakely outside a pub in Hampstead following a relationship marked by infidelity and violence, including a punch that caused a miscarriage.
The case became a focal point in debates over capital punishment. The judge had instructed the jury to disregard Ellis's claim of being “badly treated by her lover” as a defence. The jury convicted her in 20 minutes, leading to a mandatory death sentence.
Now, the family has applied to Justice Secretary David Lammy for a conditional pardon. Alex Bailin KC, representing them, said modern understanding of domestic abuse would have allowed a defence of diminished responsibility or loss of control. “A posthumous conditional pardon would correct a historical wrong and send a clear message that violence against women is never acceptable,” he said.
Ellis's grandson Stephen Beard, who lives in Rhyl, said in a documentary: “She is a murderer, but she didn’t deserve to be taken from the world in the way she was.” The family hopes to honour Ellis and other victims of domestic abuse failed by the justice system.
