English nurse Lucy Letby was sentenced on Monday 21 August 2023 to life imprisonment without possible release for the murders of seven newA sentence of exceptional severity to the extent of the dread caused by the crimes of the worst child killer in modern British history.
Lucy Letby, 33, was convicted on Friday in Manchester (north) court of the murder of seven premature infants and six attempted murders in the hospital where she worked. On Monday, she was sentenced to life in prison, a very rare sentence in English law, while questions remain about the real extent of her crimes. You have acted in a manner that is totally contrary to normal human instincts of caring for babies and in flagrant violation of the trust that all citizens place in health professionals,” said Judge James Goss, calling his crimes “cruel, calculated and cynical campaign”. Due to the “exceptional gravity” of the crimes, “you will spend the rest of your life in prison,” the judge added. This woman, “cold, calculating, cruel and tenacious” according to the prosecution, had claimed her innocence throughout her long and trying trial, which began in October 2022. She worked in the intensive care unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwestern England. The murders took place between June 2015 and June 2016. For example, she injected air intravenously into preterm infants, used their naso-gastric tubes to send air or an overdose of milk into their stomach.
Absent
Lucy Letby attacked babies after their parents left, when the nurse in charge was walking away, or at night when she was alone. She then sometimes joined in collective efforts to save newborns, assisting even desperate parents. She wrote cards to grieving parents. At the trial, a mother said she returned to give milk to one of her premature twins in August 2015, heard him scream and found blood around his small mouth. She had been reassured by Lucy Letby. According to the prosecution, the nurse had just pushed medical equipment down the tiny baby’s throat, and had also injected air into him. He died a few hours later. Already absent from court on Friday when she was convicted, Lucy Letby refused to attend her sentencing, broadcast live on British television. This refusal caused frustration and anger among the families of victims, who wanted Lucy Letby to listen to their latest testimonies.
“When we have committed such horrible crimes, it is cowardly not to confront the victims,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday, adding that he plans to legislate that this will not happen again.” At least now there is no debate that, in your own words, you killed them intentionally. “You are evil,” said a bereaved mother on the stand on Monday. These remarks refer to handwritten notes found at Lucy Letby’s house on which she had written: “I am evil, I did it”. On other notes, she claimed her innocence.
Are there any other victims?
Transferred in June 2016 to an administrative service, first arrested in 2018, then in 2019, Lucy Letby had been incarcerated in November 2020. His motives remain unclear despite the ten months of trial. Since Friday, questions have multiplied, including the fact that Lucy Letby was not arrested earlier. According to the British press, doctors issued warnings as early as 2015, but the hospital management did not listen to them or did not act, concerned about the reputation of the institution. Police continue to investigate thousands of files in search of possible additional victims of Lucy Letby. On Sunday evening, The Guardian newspaper reported that police were investigating dozens of “suspicious” incidents, involving 30 babies, at the hospital where she worked.
