Ruth Ellis and David Blakely (archive photo): She shot her violent partner.image: imago stock&people/imago
Domestic violence
After 20 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned their verdict in 1955. The judge had previously given clear instructions.
July 9, 2026, 10:12 amJuly 9, 2026, 10:12 am
Matti Hartmann / t-online
More than 70 years after she was hanged, the last woman executed in Britain has been posthumously pardoned. The British government said on Wednesday that Ruth Ellis had suffered “serious injustice”.
Ruth Ellis was executed in July 1955 after she shot her violent partner David Blakely outside a pub in London. Blakely had punched the pregnant Ellis in the stomach ten days before the crime, causing the 28-year-old to suffer a miscarriage.
The jury sentenced the woman to death after just 20 minutes of deliberation. The judge had previously instructed her to ignore the fact that the mother of two had been “badly treated” by her lover.
Contact points for victims of domestic violence
Domestic violence is understood physical, psychological or sexual violence within a family or in a current or dissolved couple relationship. Those affected can contact the cantonal victim support centers report on the website of the Victim Support Switzerland can be found. The national victim support telephone number 142 has also existed since May 2026.
The advice is free, confidential and anonymous. If women no longer feel safe at home, they can find… women’s shelters a safe place to stay. This offers further support Women’s emergency phone. Affected men can contact the contact point Stop or to that Men’s Office Zurich turn around. In the event of crimes abroad, Swiss citizens can contact the FDFA helpline: +41 800 24 7 365.
“Today our grandmother finally received justice”
The execution of Ruth Ellis sparked a wave of outrage. Two years later, reduced criminal responsibility was introduced as a way to reduce punishment. The case also led to a rethinking of the death penalty in Great Britain. This was finally abolished in 1973.
Ellis’ story was made into a film in 1985. Her family had campaigned to overturn her murder conviction, arguing that she was a victim of violence and was physically and emotionally abused by her partner before she shot him.
“I have the honor to announce that, on our recommendation, His Majesty the King has agreed to grant Ruth Ellis a conditional pardon,” British Justice Minister and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told Parliament on Wednesday, as two of Ellis’ grandchildren sat in the public gallery. This recognizes a “serious injustice,” said Lammy.
“Today our grandmother finally received justice,” said her granddaughter Laura Enston. “This pardon does not undo what happened 71 years ago. But it officially and definitively confirms that Ruth should not have been executed and that the justice system did her injustice.”