USA TODAY
A former neonatal nurse who killed seven babies in her care and tried to kill six others at a hospital in northern England was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of release by a judge who highlighted “the cruelty and calculation” of her actions.
Lucy Letby, who refused to appear in court to face grieving parents who spoke of their anger and anguish, was given the most severe sentence possible under British law, which does not allow the death penalty.
Justice James Goss said that the number of killings and attempts and the nature of the murders by a neonatal nurse entrusted with care for the most fragile babies provided the “exceptional circumstances” required to impose a so-called “whole-life order,” which is exceptionally rare.
“There was a malevolence bordering on sadism in your action,” Goss said. “During the course of this trial you have coldly denied any responsibility for your wrongdoing. You have no remorse. There are no mitigating factors.”
‘Tortured’
Following 22 days of deliberation, a jury at Manchester Crown Court convicted Letby, 33, of killing the babies over a yearlong period that saw her prey on the vulnerabilities of sick newborns and their anxious parents.
The victims died in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England between June 2015 and June 2016.
“I don’t think we will ever get over the fact that our daughter was tortured till she had no fight left in her and everything she went through over her short life was deliberately done by someone who was supposed to protect her and help her come home where she belonged,” the mother of a girl identified as Child I said in a statement read in court.
Prosecutor Nicholas Johnson said Letby deserved a “whole-life tariff” for “sadistic conduct” and premeditated crimes.
Defense lawyer Ben Myers said Letby maintained her innocence and that there was nothing he could add that would be able to reduce her sentence.
During the trial, a Post-it note that prosecutors say was found in her house was shown in court.
“I don’t deserve to live,” she wrote in the note. “I am a horrible evil person. I AM EVIL I DID THIS.”
Myers defended the notes as the anguished writings of a woman who had lost confidence in herself and blamed herself for what had happened in the ward.
Letby a no-show at hearing
Letby’s absence, which is allowed in British courts during sentencing, fueled anger from the families of the victims, who wanted her to listen to statements about the devastation caused by her crimes.
“You thought it was your right to play God with our children’s lives,” the mother of twins, one of whom was murdered and the other whom Letby tried to kill, said in a statement to the court.
Politicians and victim advocates have called for changes in the law to force criminals to appear for sentencing after several high-profile convicts chose not to face their victims in recent months.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who called the crimes “shocking and harrowing,” said his government would bring forward in “due course” its plan to require convicts to attend their sentencings.
“It’s cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims and hear first-hand the impact that their crimes have had on them and their families and loved ones,” Sunak said.