Ruth Ellis Case Questioned Decades After Britain’s Last Woman Hanged

A new TV show about Ellis, where she is played by Lucy Boynton, is set to air soon. In response, her grandson, Stephen Beard, has spoken out, arguing that the judge had options that weren’t taken.

Beard believes “battered woman syndrome” was a significant factor, and also mentions “diminished responsibility.” He is advocating for courts to review her case once more, feeling there was a “miscarriage of justice.” Ellis worked as a night club hostess at the Locarno in Streatham, a job that apparently hurt her case.

It was at this club that she initially met Blakely. Their romance subsequently turned violent, leading Ellis to a breaking point in April 1955. She went to a pub where Blakely was, accompanied by Desmond Cussen, an RAF officer. Cussen provided her with a gun.

Ellis shot Blakely twice outside the pub and then shot him twice more as he fell. She then asked police to come and surrendered herself. According to files, Blakely was violent.

Ellis went to the hospital with bruises, and Blakely allegedly caused a miscarriage by punching her. However, the court did not consider these facts relevant. Cussen did not tell police he gave Ellis the gun, even though he drove her to the location where Blakely died, thus avoiding any punishment, while her trial lasted only a few minutes.

Ellis’s execution caused a huge reaction, fueling the movement to end capital punishment. People viewed her actions as desperate and saw her as human too. People wrote letters and signed petitions, and the press also covered the story, which led to the Homicide Act that limited the death penalty’s use.

Britain abolished the death penalty in 1965. The case went to the Court of Appeal in 2003, but the court could only rule based on the law of 1955. The relationship between abused women and the law is still debated.

A report in 2021 studied this issue, looking at how the law affects women. It interviewed women and legal professionals about it.