§ Mr. WinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the death penalty on Ruth Ellis; and if he will arrange for further investigation by his Department. [101217]
§ Mr. StrawRuth Ellis was convicted of murder in 1955, for which the death sentence was mandatory. No appeal was lodged. The Home Secretary of the day concluded that there were insufficient grounds to justify the sentence not being carried out. The powers of the Home Secretary to refer alleged miscarriages of justice to the Court of Appeal were replaced in 1997 by new powers vested in the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which is now responsible for the investigation of cases of alleged wrongful conviction. I understand that an application for a review of Ruth Ellis's case has recently been submitted to the Commission. It will be for the Commission to decide in due course whether the case should be referred to the Court of Appeal.