Thinking about Ellis’s final moments, granddaughter Ms Enston said: “I can’t begin to imagine what was going on in her head.”
She told the programme her grandmother’s “execution has had a devastating impact on our family”.
“My mother and uncle suffered from trauma from which neither of them were able to recover, and as grandchildren we have felt these ripple effects,” she said.
“The evidence shared with the justice secretary makes clear that the punishment did not fit the crime.”
Under cross-examination, Ellis admitted that she intended to kill Blakely, and the jury took just 20 minutes to convict her of murder – a charge that carried a mandatory death sentence.
Unlike court appeals, pardons can consider broader factors, such as social developments, that may render a conviction or its resulting punishment inappropriate or unfair.
