Letby: Monster by Public Decree?

Demagogaery

Everyone Saw The New Reports 

The nation was captured right from the first news report. It was a case that got under everyone's skin; familiar TV reporters all told us of the rising death toll among babies and infants in the Countess of Chester Hospital. The wider media would speculate, were these deaths negligence? Maybe there was a criminal element or incompetence? The knock-on effect for the police was the tremendous public expectation to catch someone. It was 2017 when coverage began and the news story itself created intense 'turn the telly up' moments, amplifying the daily need to find out if they had uncovered that one person. 

The Early Media Coverage Was Attention Grabbing:

Initial Reports

It was quite speedy how the focus turned to Lucy Letby. However, the young nurse was present during infant deaths. I was convinced, most of us were! The reports said she was directly in the locations where the tragedies took place. Our news is really trusted by everyone I know, it must be right? Right? 

Public Reaction Where I Was Living Was Strong! 

The country allowed that Angel of Death archetype to take shape, we stoked our own fires; did any of your circles go on about bringing back the death sentence? Mine certainly did. Western social media ascribed a 'psycho vibe' to her, which contributed to the presumption of guilt despite her incomplete investigation! It was a bad climate for any investigative process, let alone trial proceedings and all that legal drudgery! 

Looking Back At The Evidence:

A Picture of Numbers

The prosecution’s case very much relied on statistical evidence to link the recorded deaths solely when Letby was on duty. The correlations are usually noticeable. Strangely, six deaths occurred when Letby was not on duty. Even so, numbers don't prove the cause of death or identify the offender. 

The Guardian newspaper wrote that Dr John Gibbs emailed his colleagues in 2016 saying: 'The increase in neonatal mortality that we have experienced over the last 18 months might be within ‘expected’ statistical variance (but I’m not sure because my stats isn’t good enough). 

Medical Experts Argued Over Evidence Validity 

Testimonials came from expert witnesses analysing and theorising how infants died. It mostly involved air embolisms and insulin overdoses, which implied intent to harm. One expert, an ex-consultant paediatrician, Dr. Evans, claimed babies had their nasal feeding tubes injected with air. 

He said air embolus was also injected into a catheter or line, but there are clinicians who still question his reasoning, suggesting the methods were not feasibly practical. Admittedly, it presents like a fiddly and awkward M.O, especially when the result of much of it, is said to be wind. No one wrote about Letby by balancing scrabble pieces in a bath. 

One of the best of the best experts from Europe, Professor Jones, informed the court that the tests used for proving insulin poisoning, such as the immunoassay test, needed to be validated with a better analytical method if solid evidence was required. His solid evidence was rejected—results lacked the strength for conviction, undoubtedly making many NHS workers uneasy about their jobs.

The Focus of Handwritten Notes

Regardless of solid evidence, the prosecution must have thought they had struck gold after they found a handwritten note! Why? Well, it featured troubling references, baseless sentences, which could be used to smear Letby's character as a clinical killer. Goodness knows how many people were swayed by scribblings, it was literally interpreted as an admission of guilt. Is she guilty? 

Her legal team said the notes were fictional, and expressions of her emotionally distressing job as a paediatric nurse. Nursing is not easy. For example, as a student nurse, years ago, I was reprimanded because of my notepad! It was, likewise, full of unsavoury handwritten reflections which I accidentally left at the cook's station. It was taken as an insult. Surely any other type of nurse can do the same? Letby's note may well have been incidental. 

The Multidisciplinary Contributions:

Lucy Letby's Psychiatric Assessments

No evaluation of Letby has found any sinister diagnosis, evil genius or psychopathology you might expect to see in Arkham Asylum. Cleared. Of course, she would have experienced the understandable emotional distress during the trial’s media exposure. She had no motive for her crime. 

Her Behavioral Analysis Holds Significance

Lucy Letby had no psychological disorder either. These are personality disorders divided into three clusters in the DSM5. 

Systemic and Institutional Factors:

Hospital Conditions 

All of my life, every news outlet has said the NHS is struggling. It's the state of the UK. It has been underfunded for decades. Working in hospital wards can be depleting work. The Countess of Chester Hospital had its own equipment problems, it was typically understaffed with a high volume of infants who required care. The demand must have been high. Nurses are beneath doctors, HCA's are beneath nurses, there is a hierarchy. Nurses and HCA's spend most time attending to patients. Would a busy nurse be more likely to plan a complicated killing in a busy ward, or something more direct? 

As of 2024 the hospital came under investigation for manslaughter. After the media attention, the hospital increased staff, decrease admissions and improved equipment resulting with improved mortality. Would mortality rates have been safe if Letby's team had worked in a gold star private hospital instead? 

Compromising Factors

Sensationalism and public scrutiny likely pressurised the investigation’s direction. We all wanted our witch to stand trial for what we perceived to be the worst of all crimes, which in reality, may never have happened. It was the hospital vs the witch. Solid evidence was rejected, instead notes and speculation was considered sufficient. 

The Final Stretch of The Trial

Has the Lucy Letby case been scrutinised enough? Was the evidence compiled by professionals throughout the trial all taken into account?

Various broadcasting intellectuals including Peter Hitchins, have spoken out about the need for a fair trial. One talk show expert mentioned taking the case to the Prime Minister. 

Meticulously Planned Murders or a Zoned Out Nurse in an Under-staffed Ward?  

In a striking moment of revelation, a member of staff, Doctor Jayaram, claimed that he informed hospital admin of Letby standing over an infant, its breathing tube was unlodged, and she calmly watched as the oxygen reading decreased. His testimony may well have ruined her hopes of an appeal. 

However, Professor Philip Dawid of Cambridge university along with twenty four experts have written to the secretaries of Health and Justice about the poor use of evidence. Future NHS related court trials is clearly a concern. They made a request for the Letby hospital inquiry to be postponed for improved evidence processing.