Ruth Ellis
On 13th 1955 at Holloway Prison she secured her place in history
as the
last woman to be executed in Britain. She is only memorable because
she was
hanged, if she had been given a life sentence she would have been
forgotten
in a few weeks by most people.
COURT:
Her judge, Mr Justice Havers had no alternative but to sentence
her to death. The
black cap was placed on his head and he sentenced her to be taken
to the
place where she had last been confined and from there to a place
of
execution where she would suffer death by hanging. To which she
replied
"Thank you".
Unlike many people who have just heard their death sentence Ruth
did not
faint or become hysterical but rather turned smartly, smiled to
her friends
in the public gallery and walked calmly down the stairs at the
back of the
dock.
She decided against an appeal (there were absolutely no legal grounds
for
one) and therefore the final decision on her fate rested with the
Home
Secretary, Major Gwilym Lloyd George. He decided against her.
EXECUTION:
Death came quickly in those days, Ruth spent just 3 weeks and three
days in
the Condemned Cell.
There was much public sentiment at the time for a reprieve and
around a
thousand people stood silently outside Holloway Prison at 9.00
am on the
Friday morning waiting for the execution notice to be posted outside
the
gates.
Inside the usual preparations had been made.
Ruth had been weighed and the correct length of drop calculated.
The
gallows had been tested on the Thursday afternoon using a sand
bag of the
same weight as Ruth, which was left overnight on the rope to remove
any
stretch.
On the Friday morning the trap was reset and the rope coiled up
so as to
leave the leather covered noose dangling at chest height above
the trap.
A cross had been placed on the far wall of the execution room at
Ruth's
request.
On the morning of execution she was given canvas pants to wear
which were
compulsory for female prisoners. She had also been given a large
brandy by
the prison doctor to steady her nerves and was attended by a Catholic
Priest.
At nine o'clock Albert Pierrepoint entered her cell, pinioned her
hands
behind her back with a leather strap and led her the 15 feet to
the
gallows.
The white cotton hood was drawn over her head and the noose positioned
round her neck.
The assistant pinioned her legs and when all was ready stepped
back
allowing Pierrepoint to remove the safety pin from the base of
the lever
and push it to open the trap through which she now plummeted.
The whole process occupied no more than ten seconds and the now
lifeless
body was examined by the prison doctor before the execution room
was locked
up and she was left hanging for the regulation hour.
She was then taken down and an autopsy performed by the famous
pathologist,
Dr. Keith Simpson which showed that she had died virtually instantaneously.
Unusually the autopsy report was later published and Simpson noted
the
presence of brandy in her stomach.
Why was ther so much media interest in the killing of Ruth?
Ruth had many qualities that engendered great public interest;
she
was an attractive, sexy young woman, a mother of two small children
and a
murderer whose victim was probably seen by most people as not exactly
blameless. Her crime could hardly be described as "evil", a subjective
concept admittedly, but a very one important in the minds of the
general
public in determining the justice of a case. She also behaved with
great
courage at all times.
It would be easy to add here that she was, at 28, relatively young
and that
she had two small children although these are, in my view, "red
herrings"
that should have no place in deciding whether or not to reprieve
her.
Equally the other women hanged since the end of the war, (Bill
Allen and
Louisa Merrifield) had very little attraction (sex appeal?) for
the media
and for various reasons elicited little public sympathy.
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