Lucy Letby recently lost an attempt to appeal against her conviction for the attempted murder of a baby girl in the Court of Appeal. Her request to challenge the most recent conviction for attempted murder of a newborn, known as Child K, was denied. She received a 15th whole life order following a retrial in July.
Despite Letby’s lawyers arguing that the attempted murder charge should have been stopped due to overwhelming media coverage causing prejudice, the judges refused to grant her permission to challenge the conviction. Letby, who is a former nurse, has consistently maintained her innocence in these offenses. She watched the hearing from HMP Bronzefield and showed no reaction to the ruling.
Letby had previously been sentenced to 14 whole life orders for the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six others. Her bid to appeal those convictions was also dismissed earlier. Now, she can only challenge those convictions if the Criminal Cases Review Commission refers the cases back to the Court of Appeal.
The crimes Letby committed took place at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016. During the retrial, the jury convicted her after only three-and-a-half hours of deliberation. Letby was accused of dislodging Child K’s breathing tube, which led to the infant’s death three days later.
Her barrister argued that the media coverage before the retrial was biased against Letby, creating prejudice. However, the CPS opposed the appeal, stating that the reporting was accurate and necessary to describe the seriousness of the crimes committed.
The recent public inquiry into Letby’s crimes, chaired by Lady Justice Thirlwall, is ongoing. It aims to explore the events surrounding the nurse’s offenses and is expected to conclude in early 2025, with findings to be published later that year. This inquiry provides a platform to delve deeper into the circumstances that allowed these heinous acts to occur.
