Notorious Ex-Nurse Loses Latest Bid for Retrial

UK's Lucy Letby is accused of murdering 7 babies, attempting to kill 7 more
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 24, 2024 8:19 AM CDT
In Notorious Infanticide Case, Ex-Nurse Loses a Legal Fight
This undated handout issued by Cheshire Constabulary shows nurse Lucy Letby.   (Cheshire Constabulary via AP, File)

Lucy Letby—a notorious household name in the UK, if not the US—has lost her latest attempt to clear her name. A court in London on Thursday denied the former neonatal nurse's bid for a retrial in an attempted-murder conviction regarding an infant in her care, reports the BBC. Letby, 34, is currently serving 15 life sentences after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more. The retrial bid in Monday's case involved just one of those convictions.

"It is the latest blow to Ms. Letby's attempts to appeal her multiple convictions, even as a growing number of statisticians and medical experts have questioned the reliability of the evidence used by the prosecution at trial," per the New York Times. Earlier this year, the New Yorker magazine questioned her guilt in a lengthy investigative piece. Letby showed no reaction as she listened to the court's ruling on Thursday via video link, per the Guardian. She was looking down through much of the two-hour proceeding. A three-judge panel rejected the argument that jurors were prejudiced against Letby because of her original trial, the one that resulted in seven murder convictions. (More nurse stories.)

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