The grandchildren of the last woman to be hanged in Britain are seeking a posthumous pardon, saying she was physically and emotionally abused by her partner before she killed him. Nightclub hostess Ruth Ellis, from Rhyl, Denbighshire, was executed on 13 July 1955 after being convicted of murdering her lover David Blakely. She was hanged at London's Holloway Prison. "We are determined to do what we can to right this historic injustice and honour not only Ruth but all victims of domestic abuse who have been let down by the criminal justice system," said her granddaughter Laura Enston.
This November, English National Opera brings a defining work of modern American music drama to the London Coliseum. Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, first performed in 2000, has already entered the repertory as a contemporary classic, a rarity in the world of opera where even success often means a brief blaze before oblivion. Yet Heggie's opera endures: a work of moral courage and emotional immediacy that continues to challenge audiences wherever it is performed.
For over a thousand days, starting in December 2018, China's government held me hostage in an attempt to blackmail Canada into releasing Meng Wanzhou, a Chinese telecom executive arrested on American criminal charges.
Micheal Manning's execution on April 20, 1954, marked the end of capital punishment in the Republic of Ireland, making him the last person executed in the country.