Was There Ever A Crime? The Trials of Lucy Letby with John Sweeney

Welcome to our new podcast series, 'Was There Ever A Crime: The Trials of Lucy Letby'. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Lucy Letby is Britain's worst female serial killer in modern times. Or is she? On the day she was first convicted, veteran journalist John Sweeney tweeted: "Lucy Letby may well be the victim of a miscarriage of justice, that the Crown has taken a cluster of accidental and natural deaths and pointed the finger at Letby. There is no compelling evidence of a single murder. The law, sometimes, gets it wrong." In a forensic six-part podcast series, Sweeney, who helped free cot death mum Sally Clark in 2003, and investigative writer Edward Abel Smith address the elephant in the courtroom: was there ever a crime? The Crown's version is that there is compelling medical evidence, a confession and a spreadsheet proving she is the only common denominator when death happens on her watch, time and again. Lock her up and throw away the key. That's exactly what the trial judge did. Judge Goss told the court: "There was a deep malevolence bordering on sadism in your actions… you will spend the rest of your life in prison." The parents of those poor babies who died at the Countess of Chester Hospital have been going through hell, with every detail of their child's death being laid out in front of them. Nothing should take away from their tragedy or grief. But it is important in a country where we pride ourselves on our legal system that Lucy's case is properly scrutinised. If you fear that Lucy Letby has been the victim of a miscarriage of justice, please contribute to our crowdfunder. Twitter/X: @johnsweeneyroar / @edwardabelsmith

Episode 7: Unreliable Witness?

Dec 20, 2024

Unreliable Witness? As questions rise about the credibility of the Crown’s star expert witness, Dr Dewi Evans, in this episode co-hosts John Sweeney and Edward Abel Smith go back in time to a 34-year-old scandal when a boy suffering a treatable disease died wholly unnecessarily in his hospital. The evidence pointed to...

Episode 6: The Framing of Lucy Letby

Dec 5, 2024

This is Episond 6: The framing of Lucy Letby, the last episode in our series.

In this episode hosts John Sweeney and Edward Abel Smith tell the story of how neonatal consultant Dr B accidentally killed a baby at the Countess of Chester Hospital and how the jury never knew. Former NHS doctor Phil Hammond then sets out...

Episode 5: Bad Science

Nov 28, 2024

In Episode 5, Bad Science, we interview statistician John O’Quigley and neonatologist Colin Morley who have great doubts about the science behind the convictions against Lucy Letby. The two professors back up their logic with their own research papers - unlike the Crown’s star expert witness, Dr Dewi Evans.

This is...

Episode 4: Star Witness

Nov 18, 2024

In this episode Dr Dewi Evans gives his last interview on his conviction that Lucy Letby is a murderer, his view that critics, especially statisticians, are wrong and are often senior males who see Letby as a damsel in distress. We will be dealing with the issues raised by Dr Evans in the next episode.

John Sweeney and...

Episode 3: Enter Sherlock Holmes. Not.

Nov 11, 2024

In this episode hosts John Sweeney and Ed Abel Smith ask critical questions of the Cheshire Police investigation into the state of the neonatal clinic at the Countess of Chester Hospital: why did the coppers plump for the conclusion of a serial killer at large? Why did they hire, then fire a professor of statistics...