A FORMER medic has claimed they were wrongly convicted, like Lucy Letby, alleging that phoney “experts” were negligent.
David Sellu spent 15 months behind bars after being convicted of gross negligence manslaughter in 2013.
PA:Press AssociationIn 2016, David Sellu’s conviction was quashed[/caption]
David Sellu was charged with gross negligence manslaughter in 2013
AlamyExpert testimony against Lucy Letby is being examined[/caption]
The former surgeon’s trial relied heavily on evidence from medical expert witnesses called by the prosecution.
However, in 2016, Sellu’s conviction was quashed on appeal after the judge criticised how the expert evidence had been presented and handled.
The judge noted that the experts had “asserted gross negligence” — a judgment that should have been left to the jury, not the experts.
The ex-medical professional said: “It worries me that there will be miscarriages of justice from expert testimony.
“As recently as the case of Lucy Letby, expert testimony is still being questioned.”
Former neonatal nurse Letby, now 34, was jailed for life last year for murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others between 2015 and 2016 at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Chester.
During her ten-month trial, which ended last August when she received a whole life sentence, it was revealed she injected her victims with air or insulin, overfed them and physically abused them with medical tools.
An application to appeal against her sentence was rejected in February of this year.
She was convicted across two trials at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others.
The 35-year-old from Hereford is serving 15 whole-life orders.
She lost two attempts to challenged her convictions at the Court of Appeal last year.
Sellu was convicted over the death of a man at a private hospital in 2010, after the patient became seriously ill following knee surgery.
Witnesses claimed the patient’s condition deteriorated due to delays in treatment, which they attributed to the former surgeon.
The now-exonerated doctor said he believes expert witnesses need proper training to ensure their evidence is unbiased and follows legal procedures.
Sellu added: “There should be a benchmark that expert witnesses must achieve, because they are such an important bridge between medicine and the law in terms of being able to deliver justice.”
The former surgeon argued that expert witnesses play a vital role in the justice system, yet pose a risk due to a lack of training and unclear selection processes.
Expert witnesses are used in most criminal trials, but are crucial in medical cases where jurors may struggle to understand complex terminology.
There is little oversight of how these witnesses are appointed, despite some guidance being provided by the Crown Prosecution Service.
This can cause serious problems as miscarriages of justice can occur when expert evidence is given which is biased, incorrect or unreliable.
The charges Letby was convicted on in full
hild A, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby injected air intravenously into the bloodstream of the baby boy. COUNT 1 GUILTY.
Child B, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby attempted to murder the baby girl, the twin sister of Child A, by injecting air into her bloodstream. COUNT 2 GUILTY.
Child C, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said Letby forced air down a feeding tube and into the stomach of the baby boy. COUNT 3 GUILTY.
Child D, allegation of murder. The Crown said air was injected intravenously into the baby girl. COUNT 4 GUILTY.
Child E, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby murdered the twin baby boy with an injection of air into the bloodstream and also deliberately caused bleeding to the infant. COUNT 5 GUILTY.
Child F, allegation of attempted murder. Letby was said by prosecutors to have poisoned the twin brother of Child E with insulin. COUNT 6 GUILTY.
Child G, three allegations of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby targeted the baby girl by overfeeding her with milk and pushing air down her feeding tube. COUNT 7 GUILTY, COUNT 8 GUILTY, COUNT 9 NOT GUILTY.
Child H, two allegations of attempted murder. Prosecutors said Letby sabotaged the care of the baby girl in some way which led to two profound oxygen desaturations. COUNT 10 NOT GUILTY, COUNT 11 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
Child I, allegation of murder. The prosecution said Letby killed the baby girl at the fourth attempt and had given her air and overfed her with milk. COUNT 12 GUILTY.
Child J, allegation of attempted murder. No specific form of harm was identified by the prosecution but they said Letby did something to cause the collapse of the baby girl. COUNT 13 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
Child K, allegation of attempted murder. The prosecution said Letby compromised the baby girl as she deliberately dislodged a breathing tube. COUNT 14 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
Child L, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said the nurse poisoned the twin baby boy with insulin. COUNT 15 GUILTY.
Child M, allegation of attempted murder. Prosecutors said Letby injected air into the bloodstream of Child L’s twin brother. COUNT 16 GUILTY.
Child N, three allegations of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby inflicted trauma in the baby boy’s throat and also injected him with air in the bloodstream. COUNT 17 GUILTY, COUNT 18 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT, COUNT 19 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
Child O, allegation of murder. Prosecutors say Letby attacked the triplet boy by injecting him with air, overfeeding him with milk and inflicting trauma to his liver with “severe force”. COUNT 20 GUILTY.
Child P, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said the nurse targeted the triplet brother of Child O by overfeeding him with milk, injecting air and dislodging his breathing tube. COUNT 21 GUILTY.
Child Q, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby injected the baby boy with liquid, and possibly air, down his feeding tube. COUNT 22 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
PALucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
