UK — King Charles granted a posthumous conditional pardon to Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in the UK. Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy announced the pardon in parliament.

The conditional pardon replaces Ellis's death penalty sentence with a sentence of life imprisonment. A conditional pardon substitutes the sentence imposed by the court with a lesser penalty without affecting the conviction itself. Four of Ellis's grandchildren brought the application for the pardon.

Ruth Ellis was executed in 1955 at the age of 28 for shooting her partner, David Blakely. Blakely, a racing car driver, met Ellis two years before his death while she managed a nightclub. At the time of her death, Ellis was a single mother of two.

Accounts from Ellis, her friends, doctors, and witnesses state that Blakely assaulted her in public, pushed her down stairs, and struck her on the ear, briefly rendering her deaf. Accounts state he punched Ellis in the stomach, causing her to miscarry, and threatened her with murder.

The judge at Ellis's trial told the jury to disregard the fact she had been badly treated by her lover as a defence. Defences such as diminished responsibility and loss of control became part of UK law in 1957, two years after Ellis's execution.

Laura Enston, Ellis's granddaughter, commented on the pardon. "This pardon does not undo what happened 71 years ago. It does not restore the lives that were broken – the children left behind, the years lost. But it says, formally and finally, that Ruth should not have been executed; that the justice system failed her. That acknowledgement matters profoundly to our family." Enston added that her grandmother was a victim of sustained and brutal abuse. "Her children – our mother and uncle – never recovered. My uncle took his own life; my mother's trauma left her unable to be the parent we needed. The shadow of Ruth's execution has fallen across two generations. We have carried shame that was never ours to bear." Enston described the family's gratitude to the justice secretary for acting. "We are deeply grateful to the justice secretary for having the courage to act. We hope Ruth's story serves as a lasting reminder that the justice system must reckon with the abuse that drives women to the edge – and must never be afraid to acknowledge when it has got things wrong."

Lammy stated, "We cannot change what happened 70 years ago. But we can recognise that this was an exceptional case. Today's conditional pardon is an act of mercy. We hope it brings some measure of peace to Ruth's family."