The Post-it notes — stress diary, not confession
Prosecution claim
Notes found at Letby's home — including the phrases 'I am evil I did this' and 'I killed them on purpose because I'm not good enough to care for them' — were presented as self-incriminating confession.
Counter-evidence
The same scraps of paper include statements such as 'I haven't done anything wrong' and 'WHY ME?'. Psychologists who have reviewed the full set describe them as stress-diary entries typical of a nurse under accusation — oscillating between self-blame and protest of innocence. A true forensic confession would identify a method, a victim and a motive; none of the notes does. Clinical handover sheets kept at home are standard practice for many British neonatal nurses who use them for CPD and reflective logs.
Notes of the kind shown at trial are consistent with acute occupational stress and intrusive self-blame — not with a forensic confession.
What the jury heard
Selected lines from the notes were projected in court, one at a time, each described by the prosecution as a 'confession'. The broader surrounding text, which contradicts those same lines, was not highlighted in the same way.
What the Panel says
The Panel confined itself to medical evidence and did not comment on the notes. Independent psychology reviewers assembled by the defence characterise the notes as an intrusive-thoughts diary rather than a structured confession.
What independent experts add
- Clinical psychologists note the oscillation between self-blame and protest-of-innocence is a recognised pattern in nurses falsely accused of wrongdoing.
- Keeping clinical handover sheets at home is a documented practice in UK neonatal nursing for continuing professional development and reflective logs.
- No note names a specific victim, date, method or motive.