Europe|Top Doctors Raise Grave Doubts Over Conviction of ‘Killer Nurse’ Lucy Letby
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/world/europe/lucy-letby-nurse-uk-appeal-evidence.html
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After assessing the cases of 17 babies cited at her original trial, a panel of world-renowned specialists said that they had found no evidence that Ms. Letby had murdered anyone.
An international panel of 14 neonatal and pediatric specialists on Tuesday raised grave doubts about the evidence used to convict the British nurse Lucy Letby, who was found guilty in 2023 of murdering seven babies at the hospital where she worked.
In a dramatic news conference in London, the chair of the panel, Dr. Shoo Lee, a Canadian neonatologist, said that the extensive independent review he chaired had found no evidence that Ms. Letby had murdered or attempted to murder any of the babies in her care.
He also highlighted damning findings pointing to serious errors in medical care at the unit where the deaths occurred and to chronic failings in the management of neonatal conditions. He said that some of the deaths had been preventable.
“Our conclusion was there was no medical evidence to support malfeasance causing injury in any of the 17 cases in the trial,” Dr. Lee said. “In summary, ladies and gentlemen, we did not find any murders.”
The review is significant because it was carried out by some of the most prestigious and respected neonatal and pediatric specialists in the world.
The experts were allowed to assess all of the available medical records related to the babies, and they delivered their assessment pro bono. The panel underlined the serious pre-existing conditions of some of the babies, and in several cases, the specialists found significant errors in the treatment or care of the infants.
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