The Lucy Letby Case

Guardian had a extensive report on it
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...-public-inquiry-into-baby-deaths-to-be-halted

Reading some of the transcripts, its obvious many of those questioned by the enquiry are very much talking in hindsight. Some are blatantly contradicting what they said previously and now some are contradicting what they said to the enquiry as many are realising it is likely that an injustice has been done.
 
At this stage I can't see a full re-trial happening, as many of the key witnesses are so heavily tainted (and quite likely under investigation themselves.) The vast amount of new information on what wasn't presented at the original trial would take months if not years to cover. It would be a huge embarrassment to all concerned and I can't see the prosecution side having the stomach to go into the Lion's Den given what we now now. Not to mention the large team of expert witnesses who have indicated their willingness to bat for the defence. I'm not sure how these things work but I can imagine a scenario where the UK equivalent of the DPP simply drops the case, or states that in the light of new evidence, the original case is null and void and therefore overturned. (*Perhaps that's a tad naive - it's probably a lot more complex!)

ccrc.gov.uk

Our powers and practices - Criminal Cases Review Commission

To help us identify new evidence or legal argument, we can use our special legal powers under section 17 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995.
ccrc.gov.uk ccrc.gov.uk
For the Commission to be able to refer a case back to the appeal court, we will almost always need to identify some new evidence or other new issue that might give reasons for a fresh appeal.

We must be able to show the appeal court some new information, that was not used at the time of the conviction, or first appeal, and that might have changed the outcome of the case if the jury had known about it. It will not be any use simply to apply to the CCRC saying that the jury got it wrong when they chose to believe the prosecution case instead of the defence unless there is convincing new information to support that idea.

For us to be able to refer a case for appeal, we must think the new information is convincing enough that it raises a real possibility that the appeal court will overturn the conviction. If we refer a sentence for appeal, we must be convinced there is a real possibility that the court will reduce the sentence.

Anyway, getting a bit more coverage here....I'm surprised there's been so little.

www.independent.ie

Real possibility that Lucy Letby’s convictions may be overturned, former hospital bosses say

The public inquiry into the crimes of Lucy Letby should be halted because of a “real possibility” that her convictions for murder and attempted murder may be overturned, say former hospital executives.
www.independent.ie www.independent.ie
“While the awaited decision of the CCRC cannot be predicted in time or decision, the increasing concern expressed by world-class experts that the prosecution case was based on medical misunderstandings and poor expert evidence, and other concerns raised that evidence was withheld from the jury, are in real danger of dissolving that bedrock into a beach of shifting sands.”


*Update: It looks like the original conviction could simply be quashed - according to this:

Will Lucy Letby get a retrial? Here's what happens next with her case | Brunel University of London

www.brunel.ac.uk www.brunel.ac.uk
If the CCRC ultimately decides to refer the case to the Court of Appeal, it will be treated like any other appeal. It could result either in the conviction being quashed and Letby going free, or a re-trial.
 
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History has shown that in the UK they'd rather ruin people's lives than accept they made a mistake.

The very recent post office scandal that resulted in dozens of wrongful convictions, ruined lives and suicides will attest to that.

Even when they knew the software was at fault they continued prosecution!
 
Yep...digging their heels in. This will work in the defence's favour as the Inquiry has now transformed from a lame duck into a dead duck.

www.theguardian.com

Lucy Letby inquiry chair rejects calls to pause investigation

Lawyers for jailed nurse had argued there was ‘overwhelming’ evidence undermining guilty verdicts
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

However, the judge rejected those submissions in a ruling handed down on Wednesday. She said: “It is not the actions of Lucy Letby that I am scrutinising.

“It is the actions of all those who were in the hospital within the terms of reference whose actions I am reviewing: what they did at the time, in light of what they knew at the time and in light of what they should have known at the time.”
 
You wonder just how long the system - including the Police, NHS, Criminal Justice system and the politicians intend to hold out over this case.

Yet another view from a former Supreme Court Judge. He's not hopeful that a potentially innocent young woman will be released any time soon.

www.thetimes.com

Jonathan Sumption: Why I believe Lucy Letby is probably innocent

The former Supreme Court judge says the nurse was found guilty on circumstantial evidence, but fears our legal system means her conviction will never be overturned
www.thetimes.com www.thetimes.com
We can only hope that the Letby case will not be added to the long and depressing list of uncorrected miscarriages of justice in the English courts. These injustices destroy lives and discredit the whole system of criminal justice. A whole life order is a terrible thing. If Letby was wrongly convicted, and there is now a serious case that she was, it is horrifying to contemplate that this young woman of 35 may be locked up without hope until she dies, perhaps half a century hence, simply because our system is too rigid to allow a proper review of her case.
 
Yet more evidence that the phrase "British Justice" is a contradiction in terms and this is beginning to dawn even on those within the system now.
 
More happenings tomorrow on this...

LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) - A lawyer for nurse Lucy Letby said he would present new evidence on Thursday to the commission which considers miscarriages of justice, saying it undermined the case against the British nurse convicted of murdering seven babies in her care.

www.theguardian.com

Evidence used to convict Lucy Letby is flawed, leading experts say

Former neonatal nurse’s legal team to hand over 86-page report which they say casts ‘serious doubt’ on guilty verdict
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
A detailed analysis of the cases due to be handed to the CCRC on Thursday suggests jurors were “misled” about several aspects of the insulin cases, Letby’s legal team said.

The report by seven experts claims that the Roche immunoassay test used in the two cases – and presented as proof of deliberate insulin poisoning – is unreliable.

Letby’s legal team said the new report was compiled by seven of the world’s leading experts in immunoassays, insulin and C-peptide testing, paediatric endocrinology and hyperinsulinism.

Mark McDonald, Letby’s new barrister, said he would also hand to the CCRC on Thursday a separate 698-page report by 14 other experts which, he said, found no evidence of deliverate harm
 
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