Lawyers representing a British nurse launched a new attempt on Tuesday to overturn her conviction for the deaths of seven infants. International medical experts who reviewed the trial evidence found no evidence of murder. The nurse, Letby, was convicted of killing newborns and trying to harm eight others between June 2015 and June 2016 while she worked at a hospital in northern England.
Despite maintaining her innocence, Letby is serving multiple life sentences and has been denied appeals. Following her trial, doubts about the prosecution's expert evidence have been raised by medical specialists. Her lawyer, Mark McDonald, cited new medical findings that he believes demolish" the case against her, stating, "There is overwhelming evidence that the conviction is unsafe.
A preliminary application has been submitted to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which is investigating potential miscarriages of justice. The experts' reassessment challenges the narrative presented during the trial, with University of Toronto Professor Shoo Lee stating that no murders took place and attributing the deaths to natural causes or substandard medical care at the hospital.
The CCRC spokesperson noted that determining innocence or guilt is not within the commission's scope. Following Letby's conviction, inquiries were initiated to examine how the crimes were undetected and to assess the hospital's response to concerns raised about the nurse. Additional investigations by the police are also ongoing. Letby's appeal to the Court of Appeal was unanimously rejected, with the court dismissing all her grounds for appeal.