British nurse Lucy Letby sentenced to life in prison for child killings
On Monday, Britain's most prolific child killer of contemporary times began her lifetime imprisonment for the murder of seven newborn babies and the attempted murder of six others under her care. Lucy Letby, a nurse, was given a rare whole-life order by a judge in Manchester, northwest England. This form of punishment, reserved for the most heinous crimes, ensures that she will never be released.
Judge James Goss proclaimed, "The court's decision is to impose a whole-life order for each and every offense, ensuring you will spend the remainder of your life in prison."
However, Letby, aged 33, generated outrage among the families of her young victims by opting not to attend the sentencing hearing. This has led to pledges from politicians to address this loophole.
Goss remarked that she had displayed "premeditation, calculation, and cunning" and exhibited "malevolence bordering on sadism," while also "coldly" disowning accountability for her deeds throughout the trial.
Many of her young victims endured severe suffering, yet she managed to mislead her colleagues at the Countess of Chester Hospital regarding her actions.
Letby maintained medical notes that functioned as "morbid records" of her actions. These records were discovered during police searches of her residence following her arrest.
"You exhibit no remorse," the judge affirmed. "No factors exist that could mitigate your actions."
"You acted in direct contradiction to the inherent human instincts of nurturing and caring for infants. This was a flagrant violation of the trust that society places in those employed within the medical and caregiving sectors," he added.
The judge stated that by abruptly ending young lives "almost as soon as they began," "lifelong harm" had been inflicted upon the families of her victims.
"Devoted parents have been robbed of their beloved children, and you have inflicted profound psychological trauma," he added.
No motives have been uncovered for these killings, which occurred from June 2015 to June 2016, establishing Letby as one of Britain's most infamous serial killers.
Presently, around 70 individuals in the UK are serving a whole-life order.
Only three women have previously received this sentence: Myra Hindley, the "Moors Murderer," who, along with her partner Ian Brady, killed five children in the 1960s, and serial killers Rose West and Joanna Dennehy. Hindley passed away in 2002.
Harold Shipman, a medical doctor responsible for the deaths of 15 patients and suspected of possibly murdering up to 250, was given a whole-life term in 2000.
He died by suicide in his cell in 2004.
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