Ronald Joseph Ryan was born on February 21, 1925, in Carlton, Victoria, Australia. Originally named Ronald Edmond Thompson, he later adopted the surname Ryan after his mother married John Ryan following the death of her first husband.

Ryan’s early life was marked by hardship. His family struggled financially, and at various points, his sisters were declared wards of the state. As a teenager, Ryan began working manual labor jobs such as sleeper cutting and kangaroo shooting. By age 20, he had saved enough money to bring his mother and sisters to live with him.

In his early 20s, Ryan moved to Victoria and began working in farming and manual trades. He met Dorothy George, the daughter of a suburban mayor, and married her in 1950. They had three daughters (a fourth child was stillborn). Although raised Catholic, Ryan converted to the Church of England to marry Dorothy, and later reverted to Catholicism shortly before his death.

The turning point came in the 1950s. After being accused of arson (acquitted) and later arrested for passing forged cheques, Ryan began a pattern of increasingly serious criminal behavior. He was eventually convicted of robbery in 1964 and sentenced to eight years at Pentridge Prison.

On December 19, 1965, Ronald Ryan and fellow inmate Peter Walker escaped from Pentridge Prison in Victoria. Armed with a stolen M1 carbine rifle, they scaled the wall, took a guard hostage, and forced their way out.

During the escape, George Hodson, a prison officer, was fatally shot. Ryan was accused of firing the shot. However, forensic evidence was inconclusive, the bullet was never recovered, and Ryan’s rifle was never tested. The prosecution relied heavily on eyewitness testimony and alleged verbal confessions, which Ryan denied.

Over the next 19 days, Ryan and Walker committed multiple robberies, including a bank heist on December 24, during which Walker killed a man, Arthur Henderson. The duo were recaptured on January 6, 1966, in Sydney after a tip-off and massive police operation.

In March 1966, Ryan stood trial for the murder of George Hodson. The case hinged on conflicting witness accounts, disputed ballistic trajectories, and no physical evidence linking Ryan to the fatal shot. Ryan maintained his innocence, claiming he never fired the rifle.

Despite doubts raised during the trial, Ryan was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death by hanging, the mandatory penalty at the time.

While Peter Walker was convicted of manslaughter, Ryan’s case sparked public outrage. For months, petitions, protests, and appeals flooded the Victorian government. Seven of the trial jurors later admitted they believed the death sentence would be commuted and would have opted for manslaughter had they known Ryan would actually be hanged.

Ryan's legal team, led by Philip Opas, pursued appeals up to the Privy Council in London. Even the victim’s family, religious leaders, and newspapers pleaded for clemency. However, Premier Henry Bolte was determined to make an example of Ryan. He refused all appeals.

On February 3, 1967, at 8:00 a.m., Ronald Ryan was executed at Pentridge Prison. Ryan's final words to the hangman were: “God bless you, please make it quick.” Ryan was buried in an unmarked grave, later exhumed in 2007 and cremated, with his ashes interred beside his ex-wife.