Content warning: the subject matter in this article may be upsetting to some readers.
Lucy Letby has been sentenced to life in prison.
One of the UK’s most prolific child ki**ers in modern times will die in prison after being found guilty of m**dering seven babies and attempting to m**der six other infants dating from June 2015 to June 2016.
The 33-year-old has become the UK’s fourth woman to receive a whole life order, which is the country’s most severe punishment available and reserved for those who commit the most heinous of crimes.
Letby regularly appeared in the dock during the 10-month trial. However, on the day of her sentence hearing at Manchester Crown Court, she refused to attend.
Watch below as families are now calling for laws to be changed following Lucy Letby’s trial…
Judge Justice Goss addressed Letby, originally from Herefordshire, saying (via The Mirror): “There was premeditation, calculation and cunning in your actions. Loving parents have been robbed of their cherished children. You have caused deep psychological trauma.”
In his address, which will be printed and given to the serial ki**er, he continued: “You acted in a way that was completely contrary to the normal human instincts of nurturing and caring for babies and in gross breach of the trust that all citizens place in those who work in the medical and caring professions.”
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Earlier at Manchester Crown Court, the mother of Child E, who died, and Child F, who survived, shared a victim impact statement in which she said Letby’s refusal to appear in court was ‘just one final act of wickedness from a coward’, as per ITV News.
Referencing the former nurse’s time giving evidence, she added: “I would like to thank Lucy for taking the stand and showing the court what she is really like once the ‘nice Lucy’ mask slips.
“It was honestly the best thing she could have done to ensure our boys got the justice they deserve.”
Earlier this year, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk stated that the government is ‘committed’ to changing the law and making it so that criminals are compelled to attend sentencing following the non-attendance of killers of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Zara Aleena and Sabina Nessa.
While on August 21 he said the government was looking to change the law ‘at the earliest opportunity’, adding: “Nothing could begin to undo the damage that Lucy Letby has done. Justice has been served, but it was an insult to the families of her victims that Letby failed to appear in the dock to hear her sentence handed down.
“She took the coward’s approach, insulting her victims one last time by robbing their families of the chance to look her in the eye as the judge decided her fate.”
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also branded Letby ‘cowardly’ for refusing to appear at the sentencing hearing.
During a visit to a nursery in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, on Monday, he was asked whether ministers were moving too slowly on making the change.
He said: “The first thing is to extend my sympathies to everyone affected by this.
“I think, like everyone reading about this, it’s just shocking and harrowing. Now, I think it’s cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims and hear first-hand the impact that their crimes have had on them and their families and loved ones.
“We are looking, and have been, at changing the law to make sure that that happens and that’s something that we’ll bring forward in due course.”
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