Ruth Ellis was the last woman in the UK to be executed following her conviction for the murder of David Blakely in 1955. Stephen Beard is Ruth Ellis' grandson. He is crowdfunding to seek justice for his late grandmother, who he and his family believe was wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to capital punishment on the basis that substantial evidence was not put forward at her trial. 

Ruth's story is currently being portrayed in the ITV drama, 'A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story'. The second episode in the four-part drama airs on ITV1 at 9pm on Wednesday 12 March 2025. All four episodes are available to be streamed on-demand on ITVX. 

Summary 

On 10 April 1955, Ruth was arrested for the alleged murder of her former lover David Blakely. A mere two months later, Ruth was hanged for his murder. The trial for Ruth's conviction lasted only two -days in June 1955, and after just 15 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Ruth guilty of murder.  

There is significant and crucial evidence that was not put forward at Ruth's trial, including her physically abusive and coercive relationship with David Blakely, as well as the role of Desmond Cussen in supplying and training Ruth in the use of the weapon used to kill David Blakely. At the time of Ruth's trial, attitudes toward women and their roles following World War Two was largely that they should return to traditional domestic, and homemaking duties. My grandmother was a career-focused, working class woman in London's club scene and there is evidence to suggest that this, and her lifestyle as a divorced, single mother, also prejudiced the outcome of her trial.

22 days after her conviction, at the age of 28, Ruth was executed at London's Holloway Prison on 13 July 1955, becoming the last woman to be executed in Britain, leaving behind her two young children, Georgina and Andy. 

My family and I want to prove that Ruth's trial and execution was a gross miscarriage of justice and that Ruth was failed by our justice system and the British state in the most irremediable way. 

Call to action

I am crowdfunding to fund the legal work involved in seeking a posthumous pardon for my grandmother. I have instructed leading law firm Mishcon de Reya LLP to undertake the legal work involved, with the aim of seeking justice for my late grandmother.

Mishcon de Reya is a law firm established by the late Lord Victor Mishcon. While Victor Mishcon was not instructed to represent Ruth at her trial, he took on her cause following her conviction, and shortly before her execution he tried to intervene so that she was not executed. 

James Libson, Managing Partner at Mishcon de Reya, said:

“Mishcon de Reya has always been driven by a socially conscious spirit and a desire to right a wrong. It’s in the DNA of our firm: from our founder, Lord Victor Mishcon taking up Ruth Ellis’ cause following her conviction, to his work as a member of the Wolfenden Committee which advocated for the decriminalisation of homosexual acts between consenting adults in private. I am very proud to have the opportunity to continue Lord Mishcon’s work in acting for the family of Ruth Ellis and I very much hope we can help them achieve justice for her.”

What are we trying to achieve?

My family and I are hoping to achieve long overdue justice and vindication for our late grandmother, through a posthumous pardon. 

The Royal Prerogative of Mercy is a power that the King can use to grant a Conditional Pardon. A Conditional Pardon is used to substitute the court's original penalty with a lesser sentence. Conditional Pardons have historically been limited to cases where the death penalty had been imposed, and the sentence is reduced to one of life imprisonment. A conditional pardon is what we would be seeking to obtain for Ruth.

To seek a posthumous pardon, the application begins with a formal request that must be made to the Ministry of Justice. Once submitted, the Ministry of Justice reviews the application. The Ministry will then present the case to the monarch, who ultimately decides whether to grant or deny the pardon.

Despite the fact a pardon does not eliminate a conviction, it is held that a pardon should be given where a convicted person was morally and technically innocent. We believe that new evidence that was not presented at Ruth's trial could show that she should not have been convicted of murder and received capital punishment, and we want this gross miscarriage of justice to be formally acknowledged by the British state.

Next steps 

The legal work will involve conducting a detailed review of the evidence presented at Ruth's original trial and the new evidence that has subsequently come to light, in order to present an application for a pardon to the Ministry of Justice. 

How much are we raising and why? 

As an initial target, we are seeking to raise £30,000 to fund the legal costs involved in reviewing the evidence. Our stretch target is £100,000 for the costs then involved in pursuing the application for a pardon.

Thank you for visiting the page- Any donation, no matter how small, will be hugely appreciated by me and my family in finally seeking justice for Ruth.