The Hanging of Ruth Ellis.

On July 13th 1955, the last hanging of a woman in the U.K occurred at HM Prison Holloway. The woman was mother of two Ruth Ellis who moved to London from Rhyl and was an escort and nightclub hostess. 

Ruth Ellis was convicted of shooting her lover David Blakely at the Magdala Pub in London, it was witnessed by many people, and when it was done she asked for the police to be called and waited calmly. Today, her story would have summoned sympathy, probable cause and extenuating circumstances including self-defense...but then the reasons behind her eventual act were not even considered in her defense.

She had a dysfunctional, fiery relationship with Blakely - a motor racing enthusiast who was a heavy drinker and abusive man. Ruth (a heavy drinker herself) had been beaten countless times and been hospitalized, she also suffered a miscarriage shortly before she killed Blakely and it is commonly thought to be because he beat her and punched her in the stomach. A love triangle was also an issue, jealousy and tempers added to the violence and ergo the crime for which she admitted guilt.

On the morning of 13th July 1955, Ruth woke, had religious counsel and a large brandy before making her way to the noose - the hangman being the infamous Albert Pierrepoint, the calmest person to go to the gallows according to reports. Public outcry, petitioning and letter-writing began the eventual turn away from capital punishment in the UK, in more recent times it is acknowledged that the years of brutal abuse Ruth suffered would certainly count towards her defense.

The Hanging of Derek Bentley.

On the 28th January 1953 (very much in living history), Derek Bentley who was 19 was hanged for the murder of a policeman which was committed during an attempted robbery. The case sparked a huge public controversy and many people questioned the sentence and it's circumstances.

Bentley was proven to have many health and developmental issues and had been tested for such previous to and during the trial. He had epilepsy and a low I.Q, being described as "quite illiterate" with a reading age of just 4 1/2 years old. This obviously led to concerns about culpability and whether he was capable of recalling events accurately when questioned, especially under pressure.

At the time the murder was attributed to Bentley's friend and partner in crime Christopher Craig who was then aged 16, however this was later called into question and Bentley was convicted as a party to murder in no small part to a comment he is supposed to have made of "let him have it". Judge Chief Justice Goddard described Bentley as "mentally aiding the murder of Police Constable Sidney Miles" and sentenced him to death by hanging which was apparently the only suitable sentence.

Following many years of controversy and appeals by the family (his parents until their deaths then by his sister until hers) and many people caught up in the case Bentley was given a posthumous Royal pardon in 1993, his conviction was eventually quashed in 1998.