Letby appeal denied but case heads to further review

Lucy Letby, the neonatal nurse convicted of killing seven babies and attempting to murder seven others, lost her appeal yesterday on a conviction for attempted murder. Earlier this year, Letby was convicted of attempting to murder a premature baby girl, Child K. Ben Myers KC, for Letby, argued to three senior judges that the retrial was unfair and an abuse of the judicial process. Myers claimed the jury was prejudiced by “unadulterated vitriol” in the press following Letby’s initial 14 convictions last summer. The judges concluded their refusal of Letby’s appeal application stating: “Nothing we have said can contribute to any debate about the wider case against Lucy Letby.” The problem is it almost certainly will.

What next for Letby? As it stands, the 34-year-old is serving 15 whole-life terms and is likely to die in jail. But one thing has changed since the July retrial. Letby has a new defence lawyer, Mark McDonald KC, who tells Tortoise he is likely to make an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) within the next few weeks. That application to the body that investigates potential miscarriages of justice will be on the basis of allegedly unreliable expert witness evidence presented by the prosecution. But even if the CCRC accepts the case – which could take years to decide – and sends it back to the Court of Appeal, that court may still decide against quashing the conviction or reducing the sentence.