Lawyers representing convicted baby killer and former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby have applied for her case to be reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).
The CCRC – which investigates potential miscarriages of justice and can send cases back to the courts – confirmed today that it had received an application on behalf of Letby.
Letby is currently serving 15 whole-life prison terms for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit where she worked between 2015 and 2016.
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The CCRC investigates criminal cases where people who believe they have been wrongly convicted or wrongly sentenced.
The independent body usually receives around 1,500 applications for reviews each year and since starting work in 1997, has referred almost 850 cases to the appeal courts.
If a case is referred, it is then for the appeal court to decide whether the conviction is unsafe.
Letby is being represented by barrister Mark McDonald in her application, who says the former nurse has been ‘wrongly convicted’.
The nurse’s convictions followed a long and complex police investigation which lasted several years, and subsequent trials totalling almost 10 months.
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In a statement released today, the CCRC confirmed it had received a ‘preliminary application’ regarding Ms Letby’s case on the evening of Monday 3 February 2025, and that work has started to ‘assess the application’.
The CCRC said it expects ‘further submissions’ will be made, but added it is not up to the commission to ‘determine innocence or guilt in a case’ and that this is a ‘matter for the courts’.
A CCRC spokesperson said: ‘It is for the CCRC to find, investigate and if appropriate, refer potential miscarriages of justice to the appellate courts when new evidence or new argument means there is a real possibility that a conviction will not be upheld, or a sentence reduced.’
‘At this stage it is not possible to determine how long it will take to review this application. A significant volume of complicated evidence was presented to the court in Ms Letby’s trials.’
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In a press conference in December, Letby’s lawyer Mr McDonald said the defence was taking the ‘exceptional but necessary decision’ to apply to reopen the appeal of Letby after key prosecution witness Dr Dewi Evans had ‘changed his mind on the cause of death of three of the babies’.
At the time, Dr Evans dismissed criticisms of his evidence by Letby’s lawyers as ‘unsubstantiated, unfounded, inaccurate’.
