Overview
- Four of Ellis’s six grandchildren have filed a formal bid to Justice Secretary David Lammy for a conditional royal pardon.
- The submission argues sustained physical and emotional abuse by David Blakely was overlooked at trial after the judge told jurors to disregard her treatment.
- Her lawyers say modern doctrines of diminished responsibility and loss of control would likely have produced a manslaughter verdict rather than a mandatory death sentence.
- A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the justice secretary considers all royal pardon applications in line with established practice.
- Relatives describe lasting trauma across generations, and renewed attention from an ITV drama and an S4C documentary helped propel the push.