Panel of Experts Question Flawed Evidence Used to Convict Nurse of Killing Babies
In 2023 Lucy Letby, a neonatal nurse in the UK, was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others in the hospital she worked at, for which she received fifteen life sentences. However, a panel of 14 experts from various countries have released a report which calls into question the science used to convict the nurse, saying that after reviewing the medical evidence in each instance, “We did not find any murders. In all cases, death or injury were due to natural causes or just bad medical care,” according to Dr. Shoo Lee, a Canadian neonatal expert. What makes Dr. Lee’s remarks and involvement in the report so notable is that the prosecution relied on a paper authored by Dr. Lee about the injuries that can result from injecting air into infants accidently to prove their theory that Letby injured or killed some of the infants by purposefully injecting air into the veins of her victims, but Dr. Lee insists the prosecution mischaracterized his findings. Letby has previously unsuccessfully appealed her conviction twice and is most likely hoping the report will be part of an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) that investigates potential miscarriages of justice in the UK court system. The case has predicably garnered international attention, given the death of so many infants, and any new trial or appellate decision will undoubtedly spark further headlines amongst Letby’s supporters and detractors.
Shaken Baby Syndrome Seen as “Junk Science” by Many Courts Today
In the 80s and 90s, the term “Shaken Baby Syndrome” received a wide amount of publicity when it was used to convict parents and caretakers in cases where infants died, with the belief that it was the result of the adult violently shaking the child would immediately lead to their death. While it is certainly true that violently and repeatedly shaking a baby can kill it, with the action now being referred to as “Abusive Head Trauma” in many cases, proving that this was the actual cause of death is more difficult. Investigators and prosecutors typically looked for what was termed the “triad” of symptoms (hematomas, retinal hemorrhaging, and essentially brain swelling) as proof positive that an infant was a victim of shaken baby syndrome and not any other explanation. However, the theory behind the “syndrome” was not based on any study but a few articles with unproven hypotheses about what could account for these symptoms in infant patients. Nonetheless, it became extremely popular in the medical community and the source of countless prosecutions, which would often charge the last adult to have been with the infant and sometimes little other evidence. When medical professionals would testify that these symptoms were present that showed the infant was a victim of shaken baby syndrome, it was often difficult for defense attorneys to refute the prosecution’s evidence in a way that would satisfy the trier of fact or prove their clients’ innocence (even though the burden of proving the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt remains with the prosecution in every criminal case). In fact, it was not understood or medically accepted at the time that even small seemingly innocuous falls that an infant or small child would naturally occur in day-to-day life could result in these symptoms being present and their death, sometimes as much as 72 hours between the child having the trauma and their death. There are also birth injuries and other causes for what prosecutors might suggest resulted from a crime. Some lawyers have been successful in fighting for clients in Shaken Baby Syndrome or Abusive Head Trauma matters, including a case in which our office defended an uncle who was originally facing the prospect of the death penalty over what prosecutors alleged was shaken baby syndrome, many other individuals nationwide haven’t been as fortunate and were convicted and received lengthy sentences despite the evidence being medically questionable at best and outright wrong at worst. It would take courts years to catch up to this reality and as a result, many individuals who were imprisoned or are still incarcerated today lost their freedom due to this junk science. If your loved one is imprisoned after conviction for so-called Shaken Baby Murder or Abusive Head Trauma, contact an attorney to determine if pursuing post-conviction relief is appropriate.
