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Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the UK, has been granted a posthumous conditional pardon.<\/b><\/p>\n
Ellis was hanged at London’s Holloway Prison in 1955 after being convicted of murdering her lover David Blakely.<\/p>\n
Her family have campaigned for her murder conviction to be overturned, arguing she was a victim of domestic abuse and was physically and emotionally abused by Blakely before shooting him.<\/p>\n
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told MPs the King had granted the pardon, saying that the death penalty had been replaced with a sentence of life imprisonment.<\/p>\n
Ellis’ granddaughter Laura Enston welcomed the news and said: “The shadow of Ruth’s execution has fallen across two generations. We have carried shame that was never ours to bear.”<\/p>\n
Nightclub hostess Ruth Ellis, from Rhyl, Denbighshire, shot Blakely outside The Magdala pub in Hampstead, London, following a tumultuous relationship involving infidelity on both sides.<\/p>\n
Ellis had an abortion, which was illegal in the UK at the time, and was physically abused by the racing driver – including being punched in the stomach during an argument that led to a miscarriage.<\/p>\n
The judge told the jury in her case to disregard the fact that the mother-of-two had been “badly treated by her lover” as a defence. The case occurred two years before legal changes saw diminished responsibility introduced as a defence.<\/p>\n
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![\"Ruth](\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/wcvf2D.png\")
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<\/picture><\/span>Bettmann Archive\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n