SEVENTY years after she was sent to the gallows, the last woman hanged in the United Kingdom has been granted a conditional pardon.
Ruth Ellis, from Rhyl, was executed on July 13, 1955, after being convicted of murdering racing driver David Blakely - a case that sparked widespread controversy and a debate over the death penalty that has continued for generations.
Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy told the Commons on Wednesday, July 8: “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 decision comes seven decades after Ruth’s execution, marking a historic moment for her family, who have spent years campaigning for recognition of the circumstances surrounding her case.
Ruth rose from humble beginnings to become a glamorous London nightclub manager in the 1950s. She was described as independent, ambitious, and ahead of her time.
RELATED NEWS
- S4C programme sheds new light on Rhyl’s Ruth Ellis
- Seventy years since landmark crime involving Ruth Ellis from Rhyl
“She was everything that society wasn’t ready to accept,” said director Lee Haven Jones, who directed the acclaimed drama A Cruel Love about her life that was shown on ITV last year.
Ruth’s childhood was marked by a violent father; as an adult she became trapped in a stormy and abusive relationship with racing driver David Blakely and what began as passion and excitement soon turned to jealousy, violence, and despair.
“There was a dark, violent side to their relationship,” Lee explained.
On Easter Sunday 1955, outside the Magdala pub in Hampstead, Ruth shot David four times.
Her calm admission - “I intended to kill him” - left the court, and Britain, stunned.
But despite her evident distress and years of abuse, the law offered her little defence.
Laura Enston, grand-daughter of Ruth Ellis, said in a statement: “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.
“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.
“We are deeply grateful to the Justice Secretary (David Lammy) for having the courage to act.
"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.”
Share