British nurse Lucy Letby, sentenced in August 2023 to 15 whole-life terms with no chance of early release, has again become the focus of public debate. The immediate trigger was a BBC film released in February 2026 that questioned her guilt in the murders and attempted murders of babies.
Prosecutors said that in 2015–2016, while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Letby murdered seven infants and tried to kill eight more. Suspicion grew after a series of deaths in the neonatal unit: consultant Stephen Brearey noted that the incidents kept occurring during her shifts. Doctor Ravi Jayaram later voiced similar concerns, but hospital management for a long time linked the deaths to treatment errors and did not want police involved.
Letby was removed from neonatal duties only after further deaths, and a criminal case was opened only in spring 2018. The investigation became known as Operation Hummingbird. In 2019, she was charged over 22 incidents, 12 of them involving babies who died in the unit.
At trial, a key part of the prosecution case was the overlap between Letby’s shifts and the deaths, along with handwritten notes found at her home, including the line:
“I am evil, I did this!”
Letby denied guilt throughout. In questioning, she said the notes were a way to release fear and distress that hospital managers might think she was not doing her job well enough. According to The Guardian, the papers may have been therapeutic writing produced on a psychotherapist’s advice, leading some experts to question whether they should have been used as evidence.
Critics of the verdict, including experts featured in the BBC film, argue that the prosecution never directly proved a single murder. They say the statistical overlap may have been misread and that claims involving insulin or air embolism were never established beyond doubt. A 2022 report by the Royal Statistical Society also warned about errors in cases involving alleged “killer medics.”
After the film aired, the debate returned not only as a question of a possible wrongful conviction, but also of the wider state of English justice. A new court hearing is expected on the basis of the material raised, though no date has yet been announced. Letby continues to insist she is innocent.