Her crimes are so monstrous they are beyond the comprehension of most people. Lucy Letby, a neonatal nurse trusted to care for the most vulnerable babies, was found guilty in August last year of murdering seven infants – five boys and two girls – and attempting to murder six others while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital in England’s north-west in 2015 and 2016. In July this year, she was found guilty of attempting to kill another baby.
Sentenced to live out her days behind bars, Letby, who has maintained her innocence, has failed at every avenue of appeal. And yet, there remains a persistent and growing number of ‘theorists’ arguing that Letby, 34, is herself the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
Letby’s supporters argue that the circumstantial nature of her case raises doubts about the validity of her convictions. There was no direct or forensic evidence that could link her to the evil acts. There were no witnesses who saw her kill or harm any of the tiny babies. The prosecution case relied heavily on statistical and medical evidence that took days to explain. Diary entries and notes written by Letby were used as evidence against her, while her defence argued they could easily be interpreted as proving her innocence.
An investigation by The Guardian, in which many medical experts from various fields were interviewed, raised “concerns” about the verdict. Systemic failures were blamed for the deaths by some, although the outlet noted, “Few of the experts The Guardian spoke to went as far as to say they believed Letby was innocent.”
Peter Skelton KC, who represents some of the families of Letby’s victims, described the campaign as an example of the proliferation of conspiracy theories “which sprout, spread and fester on social media blogs and on websites”. He said her crimes “continue to be the subject of such conspiracies, some of which are grossly offensive and distressing for the families of her victims”.
Indeed, the mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, of one baby who Letby attempted to kill described her anguish about the debate, which seemingly has no prospect of coming to an end. “You don’t want to see her face, you don’t want to hear her name, you don’t want to hear people shouting that she’s innocent,” she told The Times. “She’s not innocent, she was found guilty in a court of law.”
No doubt, cases like that of Kathleen Folbigg give hope to those looking for a crack in the case against Letby. The Sydney woman spent 20 years in jail for killing her four children until she was later pardoned, only last year. In that case, however, it was new scientific evidence relating to the cause of death of her children that was not available during her trial that helped prove Kathleen’s innocence. There is no such evidence as yet in the Letby case.
In September, an inquiry before Lady Justice Thirlwall will get underway in England. It’s been established to examine events at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit during the time Letby was employed there. It will also investigate the conduct of others at the hospital, including senior management, and the culture in the wider NHS.
Lawyers for Letby’s victims’ families wanted the Thirlwall Inquiry to be live-streamed to help combat the conspiracy theories. Their request was rejected, with Justice Thirlwall seeming to suggest it may be used to further fuel theories. “Searching for truth is not a characteristic of conspiracy theorists,” she said.
