Lucy Letby trial: Jury told to judge facts ‘calmly and fairly’

The jury within the trial of nurse Lucy Letby had been told to method their deliberations in a “handsome, mute, honest and analytical method”.

Judge Mr Justice James Goss told them it would possibly possibly actually maybe well be “instinctive for someone to react with dread” to any allegation of killing or harming a child.

Ms Letby, 33, denies murdering seven young of us and attempting to waste 10 others at Countess of Chester Sanatorium.

Her trial, which has been sitting since October, is drawing to a shut.

Mr Justice Goss earlier gave his first location of criminal directions to the jury, who will retire to put in thoughts their verdicts within the coming weeks.

The neonatal nurse, on the beginning from Hereford, is accused of conducting the assaults during 2015 and 2016.

The jury has heard more than eight months of evidence, including claims she deliberately injected some young of us with air or poisoned them with insulin.

Ms Letby has insisted she did now not wound any of the babies, pointed to complications with wretched hygiene within the clinical institution and accused senior doctors of mounting a conspiracy towards her.

Mr Justice Goss told the jury of eight females and four males that they were “the judges of the facts” and any choices wants to be in response to “evidence and now not hypothesis”.

“It’s instinctive for someone to react with dread to any allegation of deliberately harming – let alone killing – a child, the more so a inclined, untimely youngster,” he mentioned.

“You will naturally in fact feel sympathy for the total oldsters on this case, in particular of us that maintain misplaced a child and the harrowing conditions of their deaths.

“Or now not it would possibly possibly actually maybe well be needed to, however, judge the case on the total evidence in a just appropriate, mute, honest and analytical method.”

Mr Justice Goss mentioned it was the prosecution’s case that Ms Letby deliberately harmed the babies, intending to waste them.

“About a of the babies, they vow, were subjected to repeated makes an attempt to waste them,” he mentioned.

This was a case by which the prosecution “substantially, but now not wholly” relied on circumstantial evidence, he told the jury.

“The defendant was the most real looking likely member of nursing and clinical crew who was on responsibility whenever that the collapses of the total babies occurred and had associations with them at materials times, both being the designated nurse or working on the unit,” he mentioned.

Outlining the defence’s case, Mr Justice Goss mentioned it was their inspect that there had been “likely causes for quite loads of of the collapses other than an intentional base act” and the prosecution’s skilled evidence “would possibly possibly maybe well now not be relied on”.

He added: “It’s for the prosecution to existing the defendant’s guilt of any offence by making you jog of her guilt.

“She has no burden of proving her innocence.

“If you’re undecided she is guilty of any offence, your verdict wants to be now not guilty.

“If you’re jog of her guilt, your verdict wants to be guilty.”

Both the defence and prosecution are expected to give their closing statements next week.

The judge will then sum up the evidence within the case sooner than the jury are sent out to begin their deliberations.

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