Family seek pardon for hanged woman

THE grandchildren of the last woman to be hanged in Britain are seeking a posthumous pardon, saying she was physically and emotionally abused by her partner before killing him.

- ELLIE GOSLEY Reporter [e-mail]

Ruth Ellis, a nightclub hostess from Rhyl, was executed on July 13, 1955, at Holloway Prison after being convicted of murdering her lover David Blakely.

Ellis' granddaughter Laura Enston said the impact of the execution had been "devastating for her family".

"My mother and uncle suffered from trauma from which neither of them were able to recover, and as grandchildren we have felt these ripple effects," she said.

Ellis shot Blakely dead outside The Magdala pub in Hampstead, London, following a tumultuous relationship involving infidelity on both sides, an aborted pregnancy, and physical abuse by Mr Blakely including a punch in the stomach during an argument that led to a miscarriage.