Lucy Letby Court Case

[Pebble21uk]

Today has been the first day of the trial, which is expected to last for six months. One thread has already been pulled on the subject. Upon deletion MNHQ said that a thread about the case is fine but please read the rules around contempt of court before posting... these are copied and pasted here:
Publicly commenting on a court case:

You might be in contempt of court if you speak publicly or post on social media.
For example, you should not:
say whether you think a person is guilty or innocent
refer to someone’s previous convictions
name someone the judge has allowed to be anonymous, even if you did not know this
name victims, witnesses and offenders under 18
name sex crime victims
share any evidence or facts about a case that the judge has said cannot be made public

If any of the above take place then new threads will also be pulled. Let's please try and keep it going!

The prosecution’s case seems to be based on:

• she changed from night shifts to day shifts and the deaths/ incidents followed this pattern
• she had the handover papers of one of the victims in her house despite the fact she was not this child’s allocated nurse
• she has searched the victim’s family on Facebook (Facebook stalking?) with no reasonable explanation

I am interested in what the defence’s arguments will be.

@CiderJolly 2 exclamation marks both referring to the fact that other threads have been pulled - not the details of this case.

I have worked in the criminal justice system and have an interest in a public case. It's not about enjoying anything - it is about keeping this thread free of speculation so we can have informed discussion. You are free not to read it.

@Pebble21uk You are speculating though and seem almost desperate to keep it going. I’ve reported it, it’s inappropriate and unnecessary. I hope it gets pulled.

I do wonder whether a jury trial is necessarily the right thing for such a long and emotive case. I think it must be almost impossible for jurors to put their own feelings to one side.

I'll also be very interested to hear the defence's side.

One thing is for sure: whatever the eventual verdict, there will be no winners here.

If the principle of 'beyond reasonable doubt' is correctly applied in this trial, then I struggle to see anything other than not guilty or more likely aquittal will be the outcome. If it took several years to even decide that any murders had happened and then longer to charge and bring it to trial, then I struggle to see how there isn't instant doubt in anybodies mind.

I'm also curious to see how large the payout to Lucy Letby will be should be be aquitted or found not guilty. The length of her imprisonment without trial is a human rights issue, and something that most people in this country would be heavily critical of if it occur in any other 'justice' system.

Awful tragic

Do you really think nurses will reply to your fishing exercise

I agree being held without trial for so long is a very big human rights issue!

Was the length between arrest and trial due to covid/lockdown?

I didn’t think there had been that long a delay since she was rearrested and charged?

They already have by dm

I had no idea she was held on remand. I thought she was on bail in the community?

I don't know, but I would imagine that the length of time between arrest and trial is due to the sheer magnitude of the case.

No she was on remand, for her safety just as much as anything. If this has exploded in the media she wouldn't have lasted long.

There’s barely been one day of evidence. Hopefully they’ve screened the jurors well so nobody has the bias you do.

How long has she been on remand and what is ‘average’ for this type/length of trial?

It is a predominantly female jury - 9 women to 5 men ( 2 reserves, one male, one female)

2 years so far I think.

Well, considering they’ve charged her with a staggering 17 murders/attempted murders, I’d say 6 months is about right, as each child needs equal consideration.

I’ll also be following this case. Thinking of everyone involved, whether that be the families of the poor infants or the jurors. I can’t imagine the details will be easy to hear and six months is a hell of a long time. But on the other hand, I’m glad there will be a long trial to ensure everything is bought to light and taken into consideration.

I'm not sure a women accused of killing multiple neonates would have been particularly 'safe' in a remand prison. It has had plenty of media coverage over the years, or at least regionally it has.

She didn’t apply for bail apparently.

Apologies that was incorrect, she was refused it.

My baby daughter was in NICU for 5 days. You become familiar with the staff, and it was not unusual for a member of staff to be responsible for more than baby at a time. Whatever the outcome, my heart aches for those poor babies and their families xx