Why Lucy Letby’s infamous ‘confession’ note should NOT be taken as an admission of guilt

THE world’s leading expert on false confessions is set to give evidence that Lucy Letby’s infamous handwritten notes should not be treated as admissions of guilt. The neonatal nurse’s scrawled writings became some of the most memorable evidence in her trial after they were discovered during police searches of her home. Letby wrote several notes in her diary that were used by the prosecution Credit: Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2026 Gisli Gudjonsson is a leading expert on false confessions Credit: Dan Charity Among them were the explosive phrases: “I am evil I did this” and “I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them and I am a horrible evil person.” Prosecutors relied on the notes as evidence against Letby as jurors considered allegations that she deliberately murdered and attacked babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! But Professor Gisli Gudjonsson — one of the world’s foremost authorities on the psychology of confessions — has concluded the writings should not be interpreted as a confession. The internationally renowned forensic psychologist has spent decades studying false confessions, suggestibility and the psychological pressures which can lead people to make apparently incriminating statements. Gisli said: “It should not be taken as a confession to murder. “When we look at the note it’s very important to look at it as a whole. You can’t just pick up one or two words. Also in The Sun’s documentary… A mum says she believes her boy died of a sewage-linked bug that came from the taps months after Letby was removed from the unit Evidence that could have helped Letby’s defence ‘wasn’t heard in court‘ An unseen bombshell email sent by a doctor who was the only Letby eyewitness CONTRADICTS his evidence to jury A top surgeon’s damning verdict undermines the prosecution star witness A whistleblower says Lucy Letby may have been ‘scapegoat’ to cover up failures at the unit Letby cops ‘sacked’ a stats expert who ‘raised doubts over odds of one nurse being present at every baby death’ Most read in The Sun “I’m in no doubt it should not be taken and read literally as a confession to murder.” “If I’d been instructed by the defence I would have said to the defence you challenge the admissibility of that note.” His work has been influential in some of Britain’s mot notorious miscarriage-of-justice cases and he developed the internationally used Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales for assessing vulnerability during interrogation. Prof Gudjonsson has now examined Letby’s handwritten material as her case faces renewed scrutiny. And his assessment challenges one of the most striking pieces of evidence presented to the jury. The notes contained apparently damning statements alongside a mass of other fragmented and contradictory writings, including “I haven’t done anything wrong”, “slander”, “discrimination” and “I can’t do this anymore.” A spokesman for Cheshire police said: “Cheshire Constabulary will not be commenting further in relation to this case. “We strongly refute the allegations made and remain confident in the integrity of the investigation, the conduct of the prosecution, and the decisions reached by the courts. “Our thoughts remain with the families of the babies – who have always been at the heart of this case.” Lucy Letby: Scapegoat? is available to stream on 5 now Comment now