Can Lucy Letby appeal conviction? Options explained after CPS admits 'errors' in trial | UK | News

After it was revealed that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) admitted making mistakes in Lucy Letby's first trial, legal experts have now weighed in on whether or not she can appeal against her life sentence for the murder of seven babies.

According to CPS, evidence presented during Letby's trial was inaccurate and showed the times staff entered and left the neonatal unit where she worked.

The revelations came to light during a recent retrial in which Letby was found guilty of attempted murder of another child, Baby K.

Nick Johnson KC, representing the prosecution, made the sensational announcement that records of the times at which nurses and doctors entered and left the intensive care unit were “mislabelled”.

The prosecution later announced that the error only affected a specific door within the unit and assured that the data had been corrected before the retrial.

The convicted baby killer may be able to appeal, but legal experts say only if her lawyers can prove that the jury was significantly misled during the trial.

The 34-year-old former nurse could try her luck with the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), a body with the power to refer cases back to the Court of Appeal.

However, legal experts do not believe that the error on the key card is enough to prompt the CCRC to intervene.

Joseph Kotrie-Monson, a criminal lawyer at Mary Monson Solicitors, said, according to The Times: “It is not enough to show that the CPS made an error or inconsistency in the way it presented any part of its evidence.”

“The CCRC would need to be satisfied that the jury was sufficiently misled to call into question its original decision on Letby's guilt. And if the prosecution has already proved the same evidence in another way, then that would be taken into account.”

Earlier, in an interview with LBC, the same lawyer had said of the impact of the CPS error in the trial: “It appears that this evidence did not contribute to the conviction in relation to the murders as it related to the attempted murder.”