Amy Dowden says she feels 'angry' about her devastating breast cancer diagnosis and reveals how her fellow Strictly stars are supporting her When you fired that revolver at close range into the body of David Blakely, what did you intend to do? The Times newspaper, 21 June 1955. Two days before the hanging, Ellis's lawyers had submitted evidence, including the testimony of witnesses that Blakely had inflicted repeated beatings on her and that she believed he had caused the miscarriage she suffered just 10 days before the shooting with a punch to the stomach. But it was not enough to save her, although nine out of 10 women sentenced to death in the 20th century have been reprieved and served jail terms instead. A week before she died, a reprieve was granted to a 40-year-old woman who had battered her 86-year-old neighbour to death with a shovel after a long-running feud. Her execution played a major part in the movement to abolish the death penalty, although it took a further decade for the law to be changed. King Charles was 'cold and brief' in 'awkward' phone call with Prince Harry after the Duke reached out to him following release of memoir Spare

Mysterious 'witch bottles' appear along the Gulf of Mexico - and researchers are avoiding opening them The case of Ruth Ellis was referred to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). The commission exists to hear possible cases of injustice, especially cases where an innocent person has been executed or received a prison term. To the first batch of correspondents and their main challenge that would I say the same thing if it had been my child or any close relative of mine that had been foully done to death, I state categorically that I would, with God’s grace, say the same thing again.Melford Stevenson «Searching for the Truth about Ruth Ellis By Monica Weller" . Retrieved 29 November 2014. A prison officer who had sat in on the interview confirmed Mishcon's account but added that Ellis had said she asked Cussen for the gun, a detail that was to prove crucial to the Home Secretary's decision to let her hang. The authorities considered prosecuting Cussen, who later died in Australia, as an accessory, but decided it would be impossible without Ellis as a witness.

The legal concept of “diminished responsibility” did not become law until the passage of the Homicide Act 1957. This act also restricted capital punishment to five situations that were viewed as especially deserving the death sentence. The Couple Next Door review: A steamy thriller where even putting out the bins is raunchy, writes CHRISTOPHER STEVENS Suffering sleepless nights? Tossing and turning? Find your slumber solutions with MyPillow, the most comfortable pillow you'll ever own... GUARANTEED! How would you like to be remembered? From scattering ashes on a favourite walk, to a party with a bouncy castle, many people are deciding a traditional funeral just isn't right for them Natalie and Zafar Rushdie are expecting their second child! Singer shares excitement at having 'positive' things to look forward toGrace Dent's 'gaunt' appearances on I'm A Celeb led friends to worry about star's health as they now 'just want her to get home' after she quit show Gayle King, 68, shows off her curves as she recreates her niece's swimsuit photos in hilarious annual tradition during their Mexican vacation BBC staff 'lost for words' after comedian Guz Khan is announced as host of Have I Got News For You after weeks of calling Israel 'genocidal' on social media Real Housewives of Dubai star Caroline Stanbury slammed for getting a 'terrifying' facelift at 47: 'She ruined her beautiful face' It is reported that she turned to his friend, Clive Gunnell, and calmly said "Will you call the police, Clive?"

Still our type on paper! Maura Higgins,Ekin-Su Cülcülolu and Arabella Chi lead the red carpet glamour as Love Island past and present attend the Beauty AwardsGrace Dent will be paid her FULL I'm A Celebrity fee despite quitting the show after just eight days in camp On 11 July 1955, the Home Secretary Gwilym Lloyd-George announced that there was “no sufficient grounds to recommend any interference with the due course of law.” David did not come home on Saturday … I took a gun which I had hidden and put it in my bag … I intended to find David and shoot him. I took a taxi to Tanza Road, and as I arrived David’s car drove away from Findlater’s premises. We would wish to make one further observation. We have to question whether this exercise of considering an appeal so long after the event when Mrs Ellis herself had consciously and deliberately chosen not to appeal at the time is a sensible use of the limited resources of the Court of Appeal. In any view, Mrs Ellis had committed a serious criminal offence. This case is, therefore, quite different from a case like Hanratty [2002] 2 Cr App R 30 where the issue was whether a wholly innocent person had been convicted of murder. A wrong on that scale, if it had occurred, might even today be a matter of general public concern, but in this case, there was no question that Mrs Ellis was other than the killer and the only issue was the precise crime of which she was guilty. If we had not been obliged to consider her case we would perhaps in the time available have dealt with 8 to 12 other cases, the majority of which would have involved people who were said to be wrongly in custody. [34]