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Review call for infamous murderer of Bucks man
2:49pm Wednesday 4th June 2008
Comments (19)RESIDENTS are being urged to back a call for a review into the case of the last woman to be hanged in Britain for the killing of a Penn man.
The sister of Ruth Ellis is backing an online petition calling on prime minister Gordon Brown to review her case.
Ellis was sent to the gallows in 1955 aged 28 for the murder of boyfriend David Blakely at a pub in Hampstead, north London.
He was buried in Penn churchyard. Ellis' family wanted her to be buried next to Blakely but could not find the space and she was interred at St Mary's Church, Amersham.
Ellis was arrested at the scene of the murder at the Magdala pub on April 10, Easter Sunday and infamously told her trial "it's obvious when I shot him I intended to kill him".
Yet her elder sister Muriel Jakubait and writer Monica Weller allege in a book that a friend of Ellis', Desmond Cussen, pulled the trigger and have launched the campaign for justice.
So far 175 people have signed the petition and Mrs Weller said the year-long plea for support, to close on July 4, had been hit by a lack of publicity.
Mrs Weller told the Bucks Free Press: "I hope that people who are interested in justice will support the petition and request the prime minister to look again."
She said she had uncovered new evidence which demanded a review of Ellis' case.
Mrs Weller, of Bookham, Surrey, said Ellis, her hands crippled by rheumatic fever, would not have been able to fire the gun, a .38mm Smith and Wesson revolver.
And she said she tracked the police officer who attended the scene and was told Ellis did not have blood on her clothing - disputing the claim she fired one shot at point blank range.
In 2003 the Court of Appeal rejected a review of the case, which helped further opposition to the death penalty, finally abolished in 1964.
The petition is at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/RuthEllis55/
Your Say YourBucks Free Press
slacker, Flackwell says...
11:36pm Wed 4 Jun 08
I can think of better things to spend the money on rather than an expensive enquiry.
Elizabeth Morcombe, says...
10:55am Thu 5 Jun 08
quote
wayne, wycombe says...
3:26pm Thu 5 Jun 08
monica weller, leatherhead says...
7:58pm Thu 5 Jun 08
tion about the so-called peroxide prostitute was, and still is, dished out by the bucketload.I would like to respectfully ask all you 4 people who have taken time to comment about my petition, whether you have read anything about my findings in the national press. The answer will be a resounding 'NO'. Perhaps you need to ask yourselves why.Thank you for taking time to comment. Monica Weller
FH, Amersham says...
9:52pm Thu 5 Jun 08
Slacker's question is still valid. What is the point (other than intellectual curiosity) in using time and money to do anything when she's long dead? If you're worried about miscarraiges of justice, campaign for those who are still living and suffering, both in the country and abroad.
monica weller, leatherhead says...
11:18pm Thu 5 Jun 08
nt'is, Ruth Ellis may have died 53 years ago but the miscarriage of justice that surrounded her then is here now. It represents the very worst about the society we live in. I say we cannot as humans sit back and be content to say it happened years ago, therefore it is not relevant today. Justice, in my opinion, should form the crux of the society we live in.Unless we all know the difference between justice and injustice how can we possibly set an example to our young people? Who do they look up to as role models if the difficult, un-pc bits are swept under the carpet?In order to know where we are going we need to know where we have come from. Finding the truth for Ruth Ellis's sister Muriel has been my No 1 goal for the last five years. For 53 years successive governments have said Ruth Ellis was guilty. And it was an open and shut case of cold-blooded murder. With my thorough research I have exploded that myth.Ruth Ellis was hanged for a crime she did not commit.She admitted killing Blakely out of misplaced loyalty.I will continue to fight for Ruth Ellis and for a just society.Thank you for your interest.Monica Weller
wayne, wycombe says...
9:43am Fri 6 Jun 08
There is no doubt that Ruth Ellis pulled the trigger, the only concern was that she was aided and abetted by her ex lover who provided the revolver, the person she 'lied' for,this might well have implicated him in the murder but that said, the murder was clearly premeditated and as such, justice in my opinion was served.
One thing I will say having studied Albert Pierrepoint, Ruth Ellis went to her death bravely and so moved Albert Pierrepoint, that he attended her Grave and wrote on a number of occasions to Ruth's sister; it was not however, the reason why he resigned as Chief Executioner.
monica weller, leatherhead says...
10:35am Fri 6 Jun 08
My Petition is based on up-to-date and accurate findings which supersede previous authors' and lawyers'research -hence my Petition.
53 years ago Ruth Ellis was hanged for a crime she did not commit. She may have looked as if she was shooting Blakely - but she did not kill him. It would have been physically impossible and with no firearms training for her to have shot 3 out of 4 rounds of ammunition from a Smith and Wesson revolver (not an automatic gun as previously thought)accurately, on target, from a distance, and in the dark.Only one was shot at point blank range - less than 3" from the body. What is more Ruth's light coloured suit that she wore to apparently shoot Blakely in was spotless in the Hampstead Police cell - not a drop of blood or blob of grease from the gun.Yet there were pools and splashes of blood at the scene of the crime. I would respectfully say that your words 'there is no doubt that Ruth Ellis pulled the trigger' are not applicable.
Standards? What standards? The true story about Ruth Ellis has been covered up for too long.
Just because 53 years has gone by it does not mean that we should stop striving for the truth.
Albert Pierrepoint did indeed write to Muriel Jakubait. I have read every letter. He or his agent pulled a great publicity stunt at Ruth's grave which unfortunately dragged Muriel into the macabre scene. Please read RUTH ELLIS MY SISTER'S SECRET LIFE of which I am the co-author, if you want to hear what really happened regarding Pierrepoint's visit to Ruth's grave.
Thank you for your interest. Monica Weller
FH, Amersham says...
4:47pm Fri 6 Jun 08
And whilst I understand the interest and importance of exposing injustice, I still don't see the point in petitioning for a pardon for someone who is long dead and when most of the people involved in the case are also dead.
If your research has unearthed wrong practices that are still happening, then apply that knowledge to current cases and petition for retrials of those you believe are alive and wrongly imprisoned, ie who can benefit from a campaign.
wayne, wycombe says...
5:28pm Fri 6 Jun 08
I'm not sure if you are aware but the law at the time required that one only had to be an accessory or an accomplice to a murder in order to receive the death sentence Derek Bentley being one of the more widely known Unfortunately. Countless others etc have also received the death penalty merely by being present at the time of the murder, the end result would still mean that Ruth would have received the death penalty regardless of who pulled the trigger, she would have been found guilty of murder and have received the just sentence of the time.
I am convinced that Ruth Ellis should not be pardoned,I am interested however, why Pierrepoint did what he did, that I will be sure to look into further. Cheers
monica weller, leatherhead says...
6:36pm Fri 6 Jun 08
Wayne - thank you for your message. Ruth Ellis would not have had the physical strength to shoot a .38 Smith and Wesson gun of the type retrieved at the scene of the crime, once, let alone 6 times.Speak to any firearms expert about that particular gun and I think you will find they will agree with me.
145 women were sentenced to death in the 20th century. 14 were actually executed, the remainder received a reprieve.
Ruth Ellis was not properly represented at her trial.
The Director of the Metropolitan Police Laboratory at New Scotland Yard was not asked to repeat at the Old Bailey trial, crucial evidence about the gun which conveniently broke during testing so ballistics could not be properly carried out. Nor was he asked to repeat information about the trigger pull of 10lbs which required definite and deliberate muscular effort. Nor was he asked to repeat clearly that the trigger of the gun needed to be cocked 6 times. In other words this gun needed a 2-handed operation. Ruth's left hand was gnarled as a result of contracting rheumatic fever as a teenager which had destroyed bone around her left hand finger joints.
All this information has been secreted in closed files for nearly 50 years. Is that justice?
Ruth Ellis may have admitted that she shot Blakely. Have you never heard that people lie, Wayne?
Ruth's defence counsel did nothing to help her.
But you have to look at what was going on at the time. Ruth Ellis was portrayed wrongly in the press as a common tart, therefore she was expendable.
Despite the fact she pleaded not guilty, she had already been found guilty by the press before she set foot in the Old Bailey.
There is much more to the story than you and most of the UK population realise.
But I have not had the luxury of 'playing on a level playing field'in the press.
Thank you for your interest. We will have to agree to differ. Monica Weller
wayne, wycombe says...
8:57pm Sat 7 Jun 08
Anyway, a .38 can be cocked and fired with one hand, there are multiple links on youtube of children firing them. The 10lb trigger pull, is if you don't **** the hammer and instead use the trigger alone, the .38 is a double action revolver.
I'm afraid, that having fire many types of firearm myself, I disagree that Ruth Ellis could not have fired this weapon in the manner described.
That said, I do bid you good luck with your quest, at lest you are doing rather bleating from the comfort of an armchair. You have my admiration for that.
wayne, wycombe says...
8:59pm Sat 7 Jun 08
monica weller, leatherhead says...
11:25pm Sat 7 Jun 08
Having consulted current and senior ex-police officers over the last 5 years, firearms experts and 2nd World War service personnel, all of whom have used this weapon, the consensus of opinion is that it was an extremely difficult gun to operate.Some said it scared the daylights out of them. The recoil alone knocked them backwards in many cases.Many of those people have signed my petition. A police officer who attended our book signing admitted that he couldn't operate this particular gun.
I give talks on the subject of this miscarriage of justice and am often approached by members of the public who belonged to shooting clubs (from novices to experts) and service personnel, all of whom used this type of S + W and want to share their experiences with me. All agreed with my findings.
I have handled the gun at the Crime Museum, New Scotland Yard. I couldn't even get my finger round the trigger and I have big hands. Ruth Ellis had tiny hands, one gnarled with bone destroyed around the finger joints.
Mr Nickolls,Director of the Metropolitan Police Laboratory in 1955 stated clearly in his police report, and at the magistrates court that the gun with its 10lb pull required a 'definte and deliberate muscular effort'. He also stated that the gun broke during testing. Therefore ballistics could not be carried out on it.
He was not asked to repeat any of this crucial evidence at the Old Bailey trial.
This information, and much more, has been locked away for nearly 50 years in closed files.Only now can we start to see what was going on.
Ruth Ellis was not properly represented at her trial.She may have admitted to shooting Blakely but she pleaded not-guilty. She was entitled to a proper defence.
For political reasons Ruth Ellis had to be found guilty.
There is a lot more to the Ruth Ellis story than anyone realises.
Ruth Ellis lied in court.It has taken nearly 50 years to find that out because all the documentation has been locked away from public scrutiny. That is immoral.
People say all this happened 50 years ago, who cares?
I care. There has been a cover up. Ruth Ellis was murdered by the state.
Thank you for your time. We must agree to differ. Alternatively I look forward to seeing your signature on the Petition.
Monica Weller
wayne, wycombe says...
1:43pm Sun 8 Jun 08
If Ruth Ellis lied in Court and by so doing, brought about her own demise,then how on earth can you claim that the state 'murdered' her? the evidence thus far does not warrant a Pardon. Good luck with it, but i won't be signing the petition, sorry.
monica weller, leatherhead says...
5:34pm Sun 8 Jun 08
I think we'll leave it there.You are mistaken about the statement read in Court. Mrs Kensington Yule was the only 'witness' called to the Old Bailey. She knew nothing of, and didn't state anything about any target practice. I'm not sure where you've acquired that information but it isn't correct, sorry.
I will not respond to your 2nd paragraph on this comment page.Nothing in the case is what it seemed.
Thank you for your interest.
Monica Weller
Blueberry, S Bucks says...
6:15pm Mon 9 Jun 08
And if they thought she was a mere tart, she'd be too unimportant for the state to bother with.
Even if her portrayal in the press was unfair, she's not the first or last defendant in that position.
monica weller, leatherhead says...
12:14am Tue 10 Jun 08
Hanged: Ruth Ellis
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Franky, High Wycombe says...
8:16pm Wed 4 Jun 08