Ruth Ellis.

[HelenaDove]

Three part BBC documentary coming up. Exploring the case and the sexual morality of the time. There was an interesting and quite heartbreaking article in last months BBC History magazine . Some of the people supporting Ruth and asking for leniency were women in abusive marriages. It was noted at the time that Blakely assaulted her so badly that it caused her to miscarry their child. But this and other incidents were not taken into consideration at her trial.

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2018/11/ruth-ellis-1

I've just read Carol Ann Lee's biography of Ruth. Extremely well researched and written (all the books I've read by her have been like this).
I was left feeling that Ruth was badly served by the judicial system. By all accounts she was suffering from mental illness when she killed David, and so made no defence or real explanation of her actions and wanted the death penalty. It was also very troubling that another individual gave her the gun, oiled and loaded, when she was in such an erratic state. If they had not, David and Ruth would not have died. That person was never charged.

Bumping this as this is on tonight at 9 on BBC Four.