At age 28, Ruth Ellis became the last woman to be hanged for murder in the U.K. after she fatally shot her playboy lover, and her controversial conviction is raising questions 70 years later.

Ellis’ brief life and high-profile case are being revisited in a new four-part drama series, “A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story.” 

The show, which premiered in the U.S., is on streaming service BritBox and stars Lucy Boynton of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It’s based on Carol Ann Lee’s true-crime book, “A Fine Day for a Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story.”

When prosecutor Christmas Humphreys asked what Ruth Ellis had intended to do when she shot David Blakely, she replied, “It’s obvious that when I shot him I intended to kill him.” That statement left the jury with little option as the laws then stood, said Carol Ann Lee. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

“The press and the system wanted to make an example out of her,” Lee continued. “Everything was against her. She said very clearly that the reason she killed David was because she couldn’t see an end to their existence together. It was going in circles.

Ruth Ellis and David Blakely’s relationship was described by author Carol Ann Lee as obsessive and plagued with abuse. (Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

“They would fight, they would break up, they would make up. It would just go round and round. But every time, it just got worse and worse. There were plenty of people at the time who heard how David attacked her and who saw David attack her. There are records of her going to the hospital after he’d beaten her badly. He’d driven her to extremes. She just could not see a way out.”

Lee claimed Ellis intended to kill herself. But she “lost her nerve” as she fired the gun, causing one bullet to hit a bystander’s thumb.

Ruth Ellis was executed at Holloway Prison. Thousands gathered.  (NCJ/Kemsley/NCJ Archive/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

“I think that’s also another reason why she didn’t defend herself,” said Lee. “She felt that she’d done wrong, and she deserved to die for her crime. And she didn’t want to live in a world where David wasn’t there too.”

It only took 14 minutes for the jury to find Ellis guilty. She was sentenced to death by hanging.

Two days before Ellis’ execution, her lawyers submitted evidence, including the testimony of witnesses, that showed Blakely had repeatedly abused her, The Guardian reported. It noted that Ellis had her miscarriage 10 days before the shooting.

“A Cruel Love: The shocking true story of Ruth Ellis behind the ITV drama,” is available on Kindle. (Amazon)

The outlet also pointed out that a week before Ellis was hanged, a reprieve was granted to a 40-year-old woman who had beaten her 86-year-old neighbor to death with a shovel after a long-running feud. Still, none of these factors were enough to save her.

“I believe the other woman was seen as more respectable,” Lee explained. “She was a married mother. Her husband spoke up strongly on her behalf. Ruth didn’t have that. She didn’t have that kind of … respectability.”

When Ellis was sentenced, there was an immediate public outcry. A petition was created seeking her freedom. It reached 50,000 signatures, according to reports.

Muriel Jakubait, sister of Ruth Ellis, arrives at the High Court Sept. 16, 2003, in London. At the time, lawyers for the family asked judges to change Ellis’ murder conviction to manslaughter, which the jury in the original trial was banned from returning. (Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

On the day before her death, Ellis claimed it was Cussen who gave her the gun, taught her how to fire it and even drove her to the pub. Cussen vehemently denied the accusation. He later moved to Australia.

On July 13, 1955, Ellis was hanged in Holloway Prison. Before her death, she wrote a letter to Blakely’s parents, telling them, “I have always loved your son, and I shall die still loving him.” The death penalty was halted in 1965. 

Lee calls the case “a miscarriage of justice.”

It took a jury 14 minutes to find Ruth Ellis guilty. (Getty Images)

“Everyone, no matter what, deserves a fair trial,” she said. “Only then can you say someone was found correctly guilty or not guilty. But Ruth did not have a fair trial at all. … It’s appalling. It still is.”