British Nurse Lucy Letby Denied Appeal in Child Murder Conviction

Lucy Letby, a British nurse convicted of murdering seven babies, was denied an appeal for her conviction in attempting to murder another infant. Letby is serving life sentences without parole. Her attorney argued the retrial faced prejudice due to media coverage of her prior trial.

British nurse Lucy Letby, charged with the murder of seven babies, lost her appeal bid on Thursday as she attempted to overturn her conviction for the attempted murder of an infant in her care.

The 34-year-old is currently serving multiple life sentences with no possibility of release following her crimes at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwestern England, spanning from June 2015 to June 2016.

Her legal representative contested that a retrial concerning the attempted murder of a baby, known in court as Child K, should have been dismissed due to being tainted by significant prejudice from previous media attention during her initial trial in 2023.

This retrial was necessitated after a jury at Manchester Crown Court failed to deliver a verdict on the charge involving Child K. Despite the allegations, Letby maintained her innocence throughout, consistently stating she did not harm any child. Observing from a prison video link, Letby displayed no emotion as the judges rejected her appeal.

Similarly, the court dismissed her effort to appeal earlier multiple convictions back in May. The ruling coincides with an inquiry currently examining the hospital's management and its delayed response in identifying and addressing the suspicious deaths in the neonatal unit.

(With inputs from agencies.)