Countess of Chester Hospital: Manslaughter Arrests

As that inquiry was underway earlier this year, an independent panel of more than a dozen medical experts issued a report that found no sign of a crime and concluded natural causes or bad medical care led to the demise of each of the newborns.

“In summary, then, ladies and gentlemen, we did not find any murders,” Dr. Shoo Lee, a retired neonatologist from Canada, said at a London news conference in February.

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Letby’s lawyers and three former executives at the hospital unsuccessfully petitioned Thirlwall to halt the public inquiry after the medical panel released its findings. They argued that if the convictions are overturned, the inquiry might reach the wrong conclusions and waste more than 10 million pounds ($20.9 million) in taxpayer funds.

Letby, who lost two bids to appeal her convictions, now has her case before the Criminal Case Review Commission, which reviews possible miscarriages of justice and could lead to one another shot at an appeal.

The Crown Prosecution Service has said two juries convicted Letby and three appellate judges had rejected her arguments that the prosecution expert evidence was flawed.

While the medical panel said there was no evidence Letby intentionally harmed any babies, they did find that medical workers at the hospital were not properly skilled in resuscitation and inserting breathing tubes, lacked an understanding of some basic procedures, misdiagnosed ailments and acted slowly in treating acutely ill babies.

AP

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