When the judge sentenced neonatal nurse Lucy Letby last August to spend the rest of her life in prison, he described her as a “cold, calculated, cruel and relentless” killer - similar words to those levelled at Myra Hindley when she stood in the dock. Convicted initially of the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of a further six, Letby was found guilty of a seventh attempted murder after a retrial earlier this summer.
At the time, there was little doubt in the public mind that Letby was one of the most despicable killers in living memory. Only the fourth women in British history to receive a whole-life sentence, she was recently described by the BBC as “arguably the most notorious serial killer of modern times”. Universally reviled, she was depicted as a monster hiding in plain sight, whose outward displays of concern for the vulnerable babies in her care disguised a murderous predator.
Like most of us, I didn’t question the verdict. The evidence seemed conclusive, among it Letby’s confessional notes in which she wrote “I am evil” and “I killed them on purpose because I am not good enough”. Without being present at the 10-month trial, onlookers had to rely on media reporting. As portrayed by the vast majority of newspapers and TV news channels, this was a black and white case, with Letby’s guilt never in doubt.
It was not until May, 2024, when the New Yorker published a 13,000-word article questioning the safety of Letby’s conviction – which was banned from publication in the UK – that doubts began to creep in.
Lucy Letby left confessional notes in which she wrote “I am evil”........