On Monday, a former neonatal nurse found guilty of murdering seven infants under her care and attempting to kill six others at a hospital in northern England was handed a life sentence with no possibility of parole.

The judge presiding over the case characterized her as cruel, crafty, and heartless, suggesting that her actions displayed a level of malevolence that bordered on sadism.

Lucy Letby, the convicted nurse, chose not to appear in court during the sentencing process, avoiding confronting the outpouring of anger and sorrow from grieving parents, the Associated Press has reported.

She was given the most stringent penalty available within the confines of British law, as the death penalty is not permissible.

Justice James Goss remarked that the sheer number of deaths and attempts, coupled with the horrific nature of the crimes committed by a nurse who held the responsibility of caring for the most delicate newborns, presented the “exceptional circumstances” necessary to impose an infrequent “whole-life order.”

Only three other women in the U.K. have been subjected to such a severe sentencing.

Written by staff