In which prison is Lucy Letby? Inside Low Newton, the high-security jail where she will serve her sentence
Lucy Letby will spend the rest of her life in prison after being found guilty of murdering seven babies, and attempting to kill six more.
Letby’s attacks already make her the most prolific child serial-killer in modern British history, and police are investigating whether she may have harmed dozens more babies while working as a nurse at the Countess of Chester hospital between 2015 and 2016.
Questions remain about why Letby, 33, chose to kill tiny babies who were supposed to be in her care, and how she was able to carry out her killing spree over the course of more than a year without being caught.
She has begun serving her sentence at HMP Low Newton – where Rose West has previously spent time.
What is HMP Low Newton like?
HMP Low Newton is a women’s prison in Brasside, County Durham. It houses both people serving short sentences and those, like Letby, convicted of more serious crimes, most of whom reside in a high security wing. It is next to HMP Frankland, a high security male prison.
The prison was built in 1965 and was originally a mixed prison that held 76 people. It has been expanded several times, becoming a women-only prison in 1998, and of April 2022 there were 242 prisoners at the facility.
It now has seven wings, as well as a healthcare facility. Most cells are single occupancy with a small number of double occupancy cells. It also has a shop, called Rags to Riches.
The Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) – a volunteer group that assesses UK prisons and immigration detention centres – declared Low Newton a safe environment in its most recent report, covering March 2021 to February 2022.
The report states: “Levels of self-harm and violence are relatively low. The board is impressed by the in-depth knowledge the staff have of the prisoners. This is demonstrated at the regular safety meetings which are monitored by the board.”
It adds that prisoners are “treated fairly and humanely”, that “interactions between staff and prisoners are normally good and friendly”, and that “the establishment is kept very clean and tidy inside and out by both prisoners and staff”.
The prison has organised animal visits and has brought goats and sheep in, as well as having a residential rabbit and two birds.
“Prisoners have had access to these animals, often with the most challenging of prisoners giving good results in feedback surveys, which have shown that this initiative has had a calming effect,” the IMB report states.
Who else has been held in Low Newton?
Joanna Dennehy, the first woman to ever receive a whole-life order, is currently being held in Low Newton. She was handed the sentence for murdering three men in 2013.
Only three women have been given the sentence since; Rose West, who conspired with her husband Fred to torture and murder 10 young women in the 70s and 80s; Moors murderer Myra Hindley; and now Letby.
Rose West also spent time in Low Newton after being convicted, although is currently residing in HM Prison New Hall in Flockton, West Yorkshire.
Tracey Connelly, the mother of Baby P, was imprisoned in Low Newton after being found guilty of abusing her son, who died in 2007, for months. She was released from prison in July 2022.
Sharon Carr, who was dubbed “The Devil’s Daughter” after murdering an 18-year-old stranger, also spent time in the facility, but has been moved to HM Prison Bronzefield in Surrey.
