So if you've clicked on this post, the chances are that you have watched the much anticipated documentary on Netflix, The Investigation of Lucy Letby. You may already be aware that I have written about Lucy's case a couple of times before, and to say it was a very long, drawn out investigation and trial...is an understatement, with so many stops and starts along the way.
If you're not already familiar with this case or have not read my blogs about it, please check out:
Lucy Letby: Nurse Accused of Baby Deaths...But is She Really Guilty?
Nurses Who Kill: Beverley Allitt .....And Lucy Letby?
Like so many people with this heartbreaking and very disturbing case, I have been back and forth with opinions about it. This documentary gave us a bit more insight into the timeline of events and what was going on behind the scenes, whilst we all looked at our TV screens in horror, at the thought of someone murdering innocent babies in a Hospital setting.
One of the toughest job's in the world is being a parent and having to go through a pregnancy with this little life growing inside you is the stuff that miracles are made of. I can imagine a Mother of a newborn child sitting in hospital after giving birth with the feeling of relief that the labour was over, and that her baby was in safe hands, being checked over by the Nurses and Doctors. It's an incredibly vulnerable position to be in and it's very important that a Mother is given the proper care and support she needs as well as the newborn baby. In this case we saw babies who all of a sudden started to deteriorate very quickly out of nowhere and apparently when these poor babies had met their end, there seemed to be the common factor that Lucy Letby was always present.
As you know in the beginning at the hospital in question (Countess of Chester) parents often trusted the medical staff to look after their babies, but one by one these little angels were passing away and nobody could understand it. There was a lot of evidence pointing in the direction of Lucy Letby after an investigation had been made. She was eventually arrested, convicted and sentenced to 15 life sentences. As horrific as this case has been, the conclusion to the trial should have been the end of it all, but opinions were divided and it's continued to this very day.
After I had published my posts, I was being sent emails and messages with various information about Lucy Letby. There is a strong number of people who are in support of her having a re-trial. I have to be honest and say that I thought in the beginning that this was appalling and disrespectful to the victims and their families. I was being asked to sign petitions and write about her supposed 'innocence' on my blog.
After following this case for the past few years and watching this documentary some things have been made clear to me and it is a fact that she did not have a fair trial but do I think she is innocent? In the documentary you could see in the police camera footage Lucy's demeanour whilst they were in her house. I remember thinking how child-like she was and almost acting like a scared or confused teenage girl. At one point during her arrest she naively asked the police if they were going to search her house and then requested if she could cuddle her cat.
Call it shock but her reaction to everything that was happening was quite interesting for someone who had been accused of the deaths of a number of babies. You'd expect there to be a lot of emotion, screaming, protests of innocence. Lucy just had this whole aura of the game being up for her. When she cuddled her cat it made me wonder because Lucy like a lot of us saw her cats as her babies, her children, and it was like she knew that she wasn't going to be coming back. If you were 100% innocent, you'd say goodbye to your Cats or your Dogs but usually in a quick manner because you knew you'd be seeing them later.
Lucy is very close to her parents and in my opinion they babied her for a lot of her life. So she was a fully grown adult woman with a responsible role but her parents were still at her beck and call. I'm not an expert but it almost seemed that there was two sides to Lucy, the side that she had shown her parents, relatives and friends, and the other side that was on that hospital ward. To her parents, relatives and friends, she was a gentle character so it was extremely hard for them to believe that there was the possibility that she could have an evil streak in her. In her police interrogation sessions, she would lie about certain things, for example having 250 personal medical documents which contained details about her alleged victims, she claimed she just put them in her pocket and forget to get rid of them. She claimed to not have a shredder in the house but the police found one in working order in one of her rooms.
She claimed not to have known about a certain baby's death and medical history but she had notes about the child in her diary as well as medical documents. Another thing that flagged up to me was when she told investigators that she was distraught that she had been let go from the medical unit and that colleagues had suspected that she had been the cause of the deaths. She said she felt guilty that she had possibly been responsible for what had happened to them. She still claimed that she was innocent but she was blaming herself and anything that she had written down on papers in her house was because she was feeling depressed and felt that her colleagues were against her. A therapist reportedly advised her to write down her feelings as a way to off-load.
In the documentary we heard from other experts who claim that there is a huge possibility that Lucy is innocent and they believe that she should have a re-trial. To the experts that believe Lucy to be guilty, they say that these certain experts are only able to produce theories and not actual evidence to support what they're saying.
Expert witnesses were not called for the defence during Lucy's trial which is puzzling but maybe her team thought that she was without hope? A lot of evidence pointed towards Lucy, do I think she is guilty? I can't say 100% for sure, she could be guilty for some of the heartbreaking deaths of some of the babies but there might be a cover-up to protect other colleagues who could have also been responsible? So many questions and so little answers. The answers we have gotten, a lot of them don't make any sense. As painful as it is and my heart goes out to all of the victims, the parents and their families....I think there should be a re-trial and the presentation of the defence's arguments and explanations together with actual evidence that could explain the other possible reasons for the deaths of these little babies.
Another thought in my mind was the possibility that Lucy had a split personality disorder, the angelic side that she had shown to her parents and those close to her. Then the other side who could possibly be responsible for carrying out these horrific murders but almost being in a trance whilst she carried her crimes out. So to her, she may have felt like someone else was harming these poor babies? As part of a possible re-trial it would also be interesting to have a few opinions about Lucy's actual mental state.
I think the documentary was interesting and did throw up some pieces of information which may have not been available to the public before. But I can see from online socials, emails and talking to relatives that there is very much still that divide of opinion. I think there should be a re-trial where everything is laid on the table, both sides of the argument for and against together with evidence so that Lucy has a fair trial. This may reveal that she was indeed 100% guilty of everything she was accused of or she could be guilty of some of the deaths. Which could also open up a can of worms because investigations would have to be held into her colleagues and could possibly reveal that other people were also responsible for the deaths but this is just me speculating not saying that this is the case. The fact is that as painful as it is, the victims, their parents and their families have to know the 100% truth of what happened and who was possibly responsible? It would also put to bed the endless speculation and public pressure for answers.
This was a case that threw everything into the spotlight and highlighted the struggles that we have within the NHS. Staff are very much overworked and underpaid that's been the unfortunate fact for years. Sometimes it's all about hitting targets, covering up scandals, making money and protecting pensions and reputations.
I don't know what the outcome of this documentary will mean for Lucy Letby, the public demand for a re-trial is there so it all depends. I know that I will be continuing to follow any new developments but my heart always goes out to the babies and their parents.
What are your true thoughts after watching the documentary? Are your views the same or have they changed? Let me know in the comments below or email me in confidence at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com
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As always, please stay safe and I hope you will join me for the next post x
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