Key Facts
- •Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse, was convicted of 7 counts of murder and 7 counts of attempted murder in August 2023.
- •The prosecution sought a retrial on one count of attempted murder.
- •Letby applied for a stay of proceedings, arguing that the extensive media coverage following her initial conviction prevented a fair retrial.
- •The trial judge refused to stay the proceedings, and Letby was subsequently convicted of attempted murder in the retrial.
- •Letby appealed this conviction, arguing the trial judge erred in refusing a stay of proceedings.
- •The appeal focused solely on whether the judge was wrong to find Letby could receive a fair trial given the pre-trial publicity.
Legal Principles
Abuse of process can be established if an accused cannot receive a fair trial due to pre-trial publicity.
BKR [2024] 1 WLR 1327 [2023] EWCA Crim 903 at [34] to [50], Ng [2024] EWCA Crim 493 at [21] to [25]
Abuse of process can also arise if the integrity of the criminal justice system is offended by proceeding with a trial. This requires balancing prejudice to the accused against the public interest in trying serious offences.
BKR [2024] 1 WLR 1327 [2023] EWCA Crim 903 at [34] to [50], Ng [2024] EWCA Crim 493 at [21] to [25]
A stay of proceedings is a remedy of last resort.
Paragraph 10
Outcomes
The Court of Appeal refused Letby's application for leave to appeal.
The judge's decision was an exercise of judgment, and the Court of Appeal found that the judge was right to find Letby could receive a fair trial. The extensive media coverage, while substantial, did not automatically create prejudice. The judge's directions to the jury and the 'fade factor' mitigated the potential prejudice. The probative value of the prior convictions outweighed any prejudice.