LONDON — A panel of medical experts has challenged the evidence used to convict British nurse Lucy Letby, who was found guilty of murdering seven infants and attempting to kill seven others. Dr. Shoo Lee, a retired Canadian neonatologist, led this expert group, which included 14 pediatric specialists. They determined that the deaths of the newborns could be attributed to natural causes or inadequate medical care rather than intentional harm.
During a news conference held in London, Dr. Lee asserted, “In summary, then, ladies and gentlemen, we did not find any murders.” Letby, now 35 years old, is currently serving multiple life sentences and is not eligible for parole. Her conviction stemmed from her actions as a neonatal nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwestern England over a year-long period from June 2015 to June 2016.
Defense attorney Mark McDonald expressed belief that there is now “overwhelming evidence” to support the claim that Letby was wrongfully convicted, emphasizing, “she’s sitting in prison for the rest of her life for a crime that just never happened.” He argued that the medical evidence presented to the jury was the basis for her conviction and stated, “That today has been demolished.”
While Letby has attempted to appeal her convictions twice without success, her legal team has approached the Criminal Case Review Commission to review her case, which could open up another opportunity for an appeal. In response to the new panel’s findings, the Crown Prosecution Service did not provide comments, maintaining that both juries found Letby guilty and that her arguments regarding flawed prosecution evidence were dismissed by three appellate judges.
This was the second press event organized by McDonald to scrutinize the conclusions of Dr. Dewi Evans, a key expert witness for the prosecution. In earlier discussions, McDonald criticized Evans as an unreliable witness, referencing discrepancies in his conclusions about the deaths of three infants. Evans later described the allegations against him as “unsubstantiated, unfounded, inaccurate.”
Prosecutors argued that Letby executed her actions discreetly, often injecting air into the victims’ bloodstreams or stomachs, which led to embolisms. Dr. Lee, however, pointed out that Evans had misinterpreted his research on embolisms. He gathered a notable group of international experts to review the cases of 17 infants Letby allegedly harmed or killed. According to Lee, Evans concluded the infants suffered from air embolism even when no alternative cause of death was evident. Nevertheless, Lee argued that embolism is a rare occurrence and noted that the skin discoloration typical of such cases was inconsistent with the symptoms observed during the trial.
In one specific case where Letby was accused of overfeeding an infant, the expert panel concluded that the baby was actually suffering from a viral infection and improved after receiving antibiotics a week later. Additionally, a separate public inquiry is set to conclude next month, examining systemic failures at the hospital that contributed to recurring harm to infants. However, this inquiry will not address the evidence used in Letby’s conviction; instead, it focuses on accountability among hospital personnel and the care provided to families.
