David Lammy urged to consider 1955 case in light of evidence Ellis was abused by partner before she killed him
The grandchildren of the last woman to be hanged in the UK are asking ministers to posthumously pardon her in light of evidence that she was emotionally and physically abused by her partner before she killed him.
Ruth Ellis was executed in 1955 after killing David Blakely her partner, who she had met while working in the nightclub she managed two years earlier. At the time, she was portrayed as a “cold-blooded killer” but evidence has since emerged that Blakely, a racing-car driver, physically and emotionally abused her.
The impact on her emotional state was not considered during the trial that resulted in her hanging. The judge told the jury to disregard the fact that she had been “badly treated by her lover” as a defence.
At the time of her death, she was a 28-year-old single mother of two, both of whom were left traumatised.
