Lucy Letby’s case must be immediately ‘reopened in the courts’, Peter Hitchens argues following the release of a ‘powerful’ ITV documentary that raised serious questions about evidence used to convict the neonatal nurse.
Letby, 35, was convicted in 2023 of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.
She received 15 whole-life sentences, making her one of the UK’s most prolific child serial killers.
However, since Letby’s sentencing, there has been a growing section of the public who believe a miscarriage of justice may have occurred.
You can listen to the latest episode of Alas Vine & Hitchens by clicking the player below or here
This scepticism came to a head on Friday following the release of ITV’s Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt? – which challenges the statistical and medical evidence used during the controversial trial.
Hitchens told Mail columnist Sarah Vine: ‘I would think anybody who watched that documentary, whatever your feelings are, would think now it’s time to reopen the case.
‘The main thing that emerges in the documentary is how extraordinarily weak the prosecution’s case was, containing no actual facts.
‘Nobody should be happy that somebody is in prison until their death on the basis of a trial that has attracted so much doubt.
‘The leader of this panel of experts featured in the documentary, Dr. Shoo Lee, said he would only reexamine the case on the condition that if he thought Letby harmed one baby – he would tell her defence lawyer.
‘When Shoo Lee came back from his examination, he concluded there had been no crimes committed.
‘It’s amazing that someone’s been sent to prison for such a long time when the leading experts in the world say there were no crimes.’
Letby’s new legal team has repeatedly attempted to have the case reevaluated, with all requests rejected by the Court of Appeal.
The court dismissed her appeal evidence, particularly claims that media sensationalism influenced the jury.
Hitchens claimed that the children were likely not murdered but instead died because they were ‘already very ill and received inadequate treatment’.
‘People will say that the excess deaths stopped after Letby was taken off the ward’, Hitchens said.
‘That’s true – but it’s a classic example of false logic because at exactly the same time, there was this small, ill-equipped hospital which ceased to have the capacity to take on these very serious cases.
‘I am not on any kind of warpath over this – the reporters who worked on it, the doctors involved, I believe everyone acted in good faith.
‘My only view is that there might have been a terrible injustice here. Somebody is having the most important years of her life eaten away by locusts, while it maybe she shouldn’t be there at all.’
Vine put to Hitchens the existence of Letby’s notes where she says, ‘I killed them on purpose because I am not good enough’.
Hitchens said he believed the notes were written, as the documentary also suggests, on the advice of Letby’s counsellors and cannot be taken as sincere admissions of guilt.
He argued: ‘There are experts who are against Letby, who even say that the notes are worthless.
‘She was given counselling by the hospital during this period before she was arrested. They had moved her to this meaningless desk job, where she wasn’t using any of her skills.
‘Letby was distressed and prescribed antidepressants – she also started taking sleeping pills.
‘Her life became extremely dark, and she was offered counselling. One of the parts of that counselling was to write down her darkest feelings.
‘Letby has never admitted to these crimes. People who use these bits of paper as a confession are wrong. She’s always denied it, absolutely and firmly.’
To listen to the full debate on Letby’s guilt, search for Alas Vine and Hitchens now, wherever you get your podcasts.
