Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the UK, has been granted a conditional pardon.

Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the UK, has been granted a conditional pardon after her death.

In the year In 1955, Ellis was hanged in London’s Holloway Prison for the murder of her lover, David Bleakley.

Her family has campaigned for her killer’s charges to be dropped, saying she was a victim of domestic violence and that Blakely was physically and emotionally abused before she was shot.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told MPs who had granted the pardon: “While the pardon does not say David Blakely is innocent of murder, it replaces the death penalty with life imprisonment to find that there is a grave injustice in this particular case.”

Nightclub hostess Ruth Ellis, from Rhyl, Denbighshire, was shot by Blakely outside the Magdala pub in Hampstead, London, following a row involving infidelity on both sides.

Ellis had to have an abortion, which was illegal in the UK at the time, and was physically assaulted by a racing driver – including being punched in the stomach during an argument over the abortion.

The judge told the jury in her case that the mother-of-two had ignored the fact that she had been “severely abused by her lover” as a defense. The case occurred two years before law changes introduced reduced liability as a defense.

In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Labor MP Pam Cox apologized to Lammy on behalf of her grandchildren, who were watching proceedings from the public gallery.

She said: “Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be executed in this country.

“Her case serves as a sad reminder of the times when our justice system ignores the realities of domestic abuse and coercive control.

“In the decades since, Ruth’s family and supporters have campaigned relentlessly for a posthumous pardon.

“Would the Deputy Prime Minister agree with me that their bold campaign and the devastating lessons of the Ruth case should strengthen the government’s commitment to freeing women from vicious cycles of violence?”

Lammy replied: “His Majesty has accepted our recommendation for a conditional pardon for Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in the United Kingdom.

“While the pardon does not say she is innocent of murdering David Blakely, it replaces the death penalty with life imprisonment to mark a grave injustice in this particular case.”

He added: “Hopefully this will bring some peace to Ruth Ellis’ family who have carried the weight of what happened to her for over 70 years.”