Within the criminal justice system, it is important that the rights of victims, the accused and witnesses involved in a case are protected.
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This is especially important when dealing with crimes of a serious nature, such as the murder of multiple babies.
On 4 February 2025, a new report was released by an expert panel on the details of the Lucy Letby murder convictions.
This article summarises the main findings within this recent report.
Murder Convictions in 2023
Lucy Letby was convicted in 2023 of 7 counts of murdering a baby, and following a re-trial on another count, she was convicted in 2024 of attempted murder of a further baby. Letby was sentenced to two Whole Life Orders for her crimes. Letby was a nurse specialising in the intensive care of infants at the time of the offending.
New Expert Panel Report
Doubt has now been cast on the safety of those convictions, with a panel of independent experts opining that there is no evidence that the babies had been murdered by Letby.
The report was produced by a panel of 14 international experts specialising in an array of disciplines, chaired by neonatologist, Dr Shoo Lee.
This report, publicised at a press conference on 4 February 2025, draws significant criticisms of the evidence produced at trial. Amongst those criticisms, it is posited that:
The victims in this case are more likely to have died as a result of a poorly run healthcare system at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Alternative causes of death have been proffered to substantiate this theory, with the panel declaring that there was ‘no medical evidence supporting malfeasance causing death or injury’ in any of the cases examined.
Having examined the manner in which Letby’s ward was run, it was found that the ward lacked clinical staff of appropriate qualification, with existing staff being over-worked. Dr Shoo Lee stated that ‘had this ward been in Canada [where he practices], it would have been shut down’.
It was found that doctors failed to respond to the routine warnings of one particular baby’s condition, leading to what was a ‘preventable death’. A further death was deemed not to have been caused by air injection, but by thrombosis as a result of a failure by medical staff to begin infusion until 4 hours after the infant was intubated. This is said to have greatly increased the risk of clots in the blood and is the more likely cause of death, according to the panel.
The panel comments in their 34-page report that there were significant failures by the Hospital, including the failure to accurately diagnose diseases, inability to conduct basic medical procedures and delays in administering treatment.
What does this new report mean for the Lucy Letby murder convictions?
It is said that this report is capable of casting significant doubt over the safety of the convictions in Lucy Letby’s case. Some have posited that these developments are also indicative of a wider concern regarding the management and wider culture of the National Health Service and Crown Prosecution Service, in allowing these problems to go unnoticed.
It has been further alleged that this fresh evidence may also tend to suggest a ‘cover-up’ amongst senior NHS staff. Some have stated that Letby represents a scapegoat for wider institutional failings within the NHS.
Urged Consideration of Letby's Conduct
Whilst there are significant concerns raised by this report, those unconvinced have urged that the consideration of Letby’s general conduct are borne in mind. Reference has been made in the media to Letby’s ‘deadpan’ attitude throughout the initial trial proceedings, her comments made to others about being ‘excited’ to experience her first newborn death, and the various drawings and journal entries found in her home referring to the death of children.