In 2018, British nurse, Lucy Letby was arrested and subsequently charged with the murders of seven infants and the attempted murder of even more. Detectives had been watching her for over a year and felt they had all the evidence they needed to prove she was a cold-hearted killer.
In the weeks and months that followed her arrest the press and public demonized the NHS nurse. People were rightfully outraged at the idea of someone in a position of trust committing such a heinous act. Letby’s trial was one of the longest in U.K. history, lasting ten months with the nurse being handed 15 life sentences at the end of it.
But is this image of Lucy actually real? In recent years some have begun to speak up to claim the woman convicted of infanticide may not be the killer she’s been portrayed as. A lot of key evidence was kept from being used in the trial and some of the evidence used by the prosecution was rather shaky and now, Barrister Mark McDonald, claims that Lucy Letby could in fact be innocent.
The new evidence
Earlier this year, a group of medical experts published a review which concluded that no murders took place at all. According to the Bailiwick Express the review cast doubt over the conclusions made by witnesses for the prosecution.
Other medical experts have also come forward to dispute some of the supposed facts that apparently proved Letby was guilty. In one example, Letby was accused of killing some infants by injecting air into their veins, Dr Shoo Lee, whose study on the effects air embolisms in newborns was used by the prosecution has since stated that the prosecution was wrong about the assertion that there was evidence of an air embolism in some of the infants.
On top of this, all the evidence for the prosecution comes from testimonies made by doctors and witness statements. Letby was never caught in the act meaning there is no solid evidence to conclusively prove her guilt.
Some suspect that Lucy was a scapegoat. Perhaps she was set up to take the fall for the failures of the intensive care unit at her hospital. That’s what Letby’s own parents think anyway, according to the BBC.
What does this mean for Lucy Letby?
Right now Letby is still branded an infant killer. She was convicted in 2023 but has always maintained her innocence. However, these minor details are likely not enough to sway public opinion or get her off the hook. Many still firmly believe that she is a coldhearted killer.
Meanwhile, Mark McDonald is continuing to advocate for the former nurse. He labeled her conviction “the biggest miscarriage in the history of our criminal justice system.” But it will take more than one barrister to get Letby another trial. For now, she’ll be staying behind bars.
