Key facts
- A conditional pardon has been granted for Ruth Ellis, the last woman executed in the UK.
- Ellis was hanged in 1955 after being convicted of murdering her lover, David Blakely.
- Her family has campaigned for decades, arguing she was a victim of domestic abuse.
- The pardon replaces the death penalty with a sentence of life imprisonment.
- The pardon acknowledges a profound injustice but does not claim innocence of the killing.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy announced on Wednesday that King Charles III has granted a conditional pardon for Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom. Ellis was hanged at London's Holloway Prison in 1955 after being convicted of murdering her lover, David Blakely.
Her grandchildren have campaigned for years to have her murder conviction overturned, arguing that she was a victim of domestic abuse and suffered physical and emotional abuse from Blakely prior to the shooting. Lammy informed MPs that the King had accepted the advice to grant the pardon, stating, "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."
Ellis, a nightclub hostess, shot Blakely outside The Magdala pub in Hampstead, London, after a turbulent relationship marked by infidelity on both sides. She had undergone an illegal abortion and suffered physical abuse from Blakely, including a miscarriage after being punched during an argument. The judge in her original trial instructed the jury to disregard the fact that Ellis had been "badly treated by her lover" as a defense, two years before diminished responsibility was introduced as a legal defense.
Pam Cox, the Labour MP for Colchester, had requested the pardon on behalf of Ellis's grandchildren. Lammy expressed hope that the pardon would bring peace to Ellis's family, who have carried the burden of the events for over 70 years.