Lucy Letby is refused permission to appeal murder convictions
Posted 31 January 2024 - 13:07
Court of Appeal turns down bid by former nurse to bring an appeal against her convictions for murder of seven babies and attempted murder of six others
Child serial killer Lucy Letby has been refused permission to appeal against her convictions for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others.
The former nurse was sentenced to a whole-life prison term last August for the crimes, committed in 2015 and 2016 when she was working as a children’s nurse on the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital.
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She denied all charges and lodged an appeal against her convictions in September. The Court of Appeal has now refused her application.
Applications for permission to appeal against a crown court decision are considered by a judge without a hearing.
Letby now has 14 days to decide if she wants to renew her application
Letby now has 14 days to renew her application, which would then be heard in court before three judges.
The jury in Letby’s trial at Manchester Crown Court was unable to reach verdicts on six counts of attempted murder in relation to five children.
Letby, the most prolific child killer in modern British history will face a retrial in June on one charge of attempting to murder a baby girl after the jury in her original trial was unable to reach a verdict on that allegation.
After Letby’s conviction, the Department of Health and Social Care announced a statutory inquiry into her crimes led by Lady Justice Thirlwall.
It will examine the conduct of clinical and non-clinical staff and the structures of raising concerns, the experiences of babies and their parents named in the indictment, and the effectiveness of governance and external regulation, including by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Read more on the Lucy Letby case
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