A panel of medical experts recently disputed evidence that was used to convict nurse Lucy Letby for the supposed murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven other newborns.
The experts, a "blue riband committee" comprised of 14 neonatalogists, claimed that they found "no evidence" of murder by Letby following a press conference held in London. They argue that it was hospital errors that resulted in the unfortunate deaths of the newborns.
Lucy Letby's Efforts for an Appeal
The latest claim comes as Letby is currently serving 15 whole-life orders for her supposed murder of the seven babies. Her lawyers also revealed before the hearing that they submitted an application to the independent Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), where they cited a miscarriage of justice.
Now, the CCRC will work on investigating Letby's case and whether or not it should be sent to the Court of Appeal, which is the body that has the authority to overturn a person's conviction of a crime, according to The Sun.
Tory former minister Sir David Davis was part of the panel and expressed his hopes for a retrial of Letby, adding that he believes it will clear the nurse of any wrongdoing. When he began the proceedings, he said that experts would be able to "put right what I think is one of the major injustices of modern times."
It is also worth noting that the panel included retired medic Dr. Shoo Lee, who co-authored an academic paper in 1989 regarding air embolism in babies. This is something that was talked about prominently during Letby's initial trial, which convicted her of murder. The prosecution used his work to support the theory that the nurse was responsible for the deaths of some of the newborns by injecting them with air.
So far, the Crown Prosecution Service has not commented on the new medical panel's conclusions regarding Letby's role in the deaths of the newborns. Previously, prosecutors said that two juries convicted the nurse and that three appellate judges rejected her arguments that the prosecution expert evidence was not accurate, Associated Press reported.
Possible Hospital Errors
The panel found that the medical workers at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwestern England, where Letby worked between June 2015 and June 2016, were not properly skilled in resuscitation and inserting breathing tubes. They also lacked an understanding of some basic procedures in the field.
Additionally, there is a separate public inquiry that is looking into the failures of the hospital that could have led to the babies being repeatedly harmed. That particular investigation is set to conclude next month but it is not examining any evidence that was used to convict Letby, as per CBS News.
