Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy announced that the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom, Ruth Ellis, will receive a conditional pardon. Ruth Ellis was executed in 1955 for the murder of her lover, David Blakely, and her grandchildren had campaigned for her posthumous pardon.
In a statement delivered in place of Keir Starmer during PMQs, Mr. Lammy, also serving as the Justice Secretary, revealed that King accepted the recommendation to grant Ruth Ellis a conditional pardon. This decision acknowledges the injustice in her case by replacing the death penalty with a life imprisonment sentence, although it does not declare her innocence.
Expressing hope for closure for Ruth Ellis’s family, Mr. Lammy mentioned that her grandchildren were present in the Commons’ public gallery. The family has carried the burden of her conviction for over 70 years, and this pardon aims to bring them some peace.
One of Ruth Ellis’s grandchildren, Laura Enston, stated their determination to correct the historical injustice and honor not only Ruth Ellis but all domestic abuse victims failed by the justice system. She emphasized that while the pardon cannot undo the past, it signifies that Ruth Ellis should not have been executed, highlighting the system’s failure in her case.
Ellis fatally shot Blakely in 1955, leading to her conviction and subsequent execution. The pardon application, submitted by four of her grandchildren, highlighted the impact of domestic abuse and trauma on her trial, factors that were not adequately addressed back then.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) noted that under current laws, Ruth Ellis might have been able to argue for partial defences like loss of control or diminished responsibility, which could have potentially reduced her murder conviction to manslaughter if presented in a modern court setting.
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