Knights of Walpurgis

This morning at nine am, muggle, Ruth Ellis, 28, is to be hanged for the murder of her wizarding lover, David Drummond Moffat Blakely,25.

This verdict has brought much debate to both the muggle and wizarding world as to whether the death penalty should be retired. It has also sparked much debate as to where the woman should have been tried. The Ministry is facing much criticism for not stepping in to intervene. Currently wizarding law does not allow for intervention in cases involving muggle defendants.

Ms. Ellis, mother of two, emptied her gun (a muggle weapon) into Mr. Blakely on the evening of 10th April, 1955, killing him, and injuring one witness.

Her trial opened on 20th June 1955 in the Old Bailey’s No. 1 court, preceded by Mr. Justice Havers. The prosecution was led by Mr. Christmas Humphries, and the Defense by Mr. Melford Stevenson. Ms. Ellis was eerily calm through the whole of the trial, and while she plead not guilty when questioned as to what she intended to do when she fired the gun at close range she replied, “It was obvious that when I shot him I intended to kill him.”

Ruth was declared guilty after the jury deliberating for only 23 minutes. No other verdict could have been reached with her admission of pre meditation, and under current law a person found guilty of murder and not manslaughter must be put to death.

She has been quoted as saying, “I am now completely composed. I know that I am going to die, and I’m ready to do so. You won’t hear anything from me that says I didn’t kill David. I did kill him. And whatever the circumstances you as a lawyer will appreciate that it’s a life for a life. Isn't that just?”

Governor at Holloway was forced to call for police reinforcements because of a crowd of more than 500 who had gathered outside the prison's gates singing and chanting for Ruth for several hours. Some of them broke through the police cordon to bang on the prison gates, calling for Ruth to pray with them

There is call for the laws to be changed, either abolishing the death penalty all together or giving greater lenience for case by case judging, which would allow a person to be convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison instead of the now mandatory death.

This has brought much attention to our own penal system over the past few months. As of now our law mirrors the muggle, with a sentence of the kiss delivered to all convicted of murder. Many activist groups are now calling for this to be abolished, with a rally outside the Ministry of magic planned for this morning in support of changing these long held laws. Similar rallies have been held over the past few weeks from opposing groups, who would see Ms. Ellis tried (and set to death) here. The Ministry had not yet issued a comment, but seems hesitant to re-evaluate our current system.

Who: Tom Riddle
What: Watching a good old fashioned hanging
Where: Holloway Prison, London Borough of Islington
When: 13th July, 1955
Status: Complete
Warnings: A hanging is not pleasant.

She was quite the beauty, the papers hadn't lied, though her blood made her utterly unappealing. Tom eyes were trained on the girl as they marched her out, her face calm. The yard was silent save for the cries of the protesters outside and Toms lips curled into a half smirk as they slid the white bag over her head, fitting the noose round her neck.

A young girl started sobbing and Tom's gaze shifted to her slowly, as she clung to her mother. The girl's sister no doubt; she bore quite the resemblance. He flashed her a charming smile and for a moment her face slackened, sobbing stopping.

Then came the loud throng of the dead weight of a body pulling on the rope, and the sister screamed, Tom's face breaking into a full grin. It was a beautiful sight. The body, hanging like some sort of marionette, waiting to be brought back to life, swaying gently in a morbid dance of the dead.

They checked her to assure she was dead before clearing off. She was to hang for an hour, and slowly the people dispersed. His tongue traced along his teeth as he watched the mother lead the girl way, a predatory look in his eye. This is what comes of filth like you trying to mix with wizards. You'll all learn your place soon enough.

Silently, he slipped away from the wall, following after the young woman and her mother, a plan forming in his mind.

Who: Cassius Lestrange & Antonin Dolohov
What: Cassius has a request for an old friend.
Where: Lestrange Manor, Cassius' personal office, England
When: 13th July, 1955
Status: On-going
Warnings: PG-13ish for bad language that is likely to ensue.

Cassius stood before the fireplace of his study, eyes focused on the flames. The cigarette burning half forgotten, with only a few occasional puffs taken. He had a dilemma, and he needed help to get out of it, no matter how much it irked him to do so. He had always been able to resolve problems on his own, but this was getting out of hand. At first he was fine with Eileen hiding from him, he had thought that after so long his parents would let the betrothal fade, but they have not. And now he is being told that he better get her to the altar soon and begin the process of fathering heirs, as was his duty. And that, he just would not do.

Which was why he was waiting on Dolohov to show up, at his request. Of all of his friends, Dolohov was the only one he was sure would be up to the task, perform it well, and to do it in a discreet manner. He was sure Dolohov would find what he needed to end this nonsense about him marrying Eileen.

Upon hearing his study door open her turned, hand raising to remove the cigarette from his lips. "Antonin, thank you for coming. Do you want a drink while we talk?"