{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"The Statistics Expert who's helped two Nurses overturn their Serial Killer Convictions on Appeal","description":"Psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud talks in-depth to Professor Richard Gill - one of the key experts who has helped overturn two recent nurse serial killer convictions You can also listen to this interview on a free app on iTunes and Google Play Store entitled 'Raj Persaud in conversation', which includes a lot of free information on the latest research findings in psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience and mental health, plus interviews with top experts from around the world. Download it free from these links. Don't forget to check out the bonus content button on the app. https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.rajpersaud.android.rajpersaud https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/dr-raj-persaud-in-conversation\/id927466223? The article below was published before the outcome of the Lucy Letby case was known https:\/\/www.universiteitleiden.nl\/en\/in-the-media\/2023\/02\/in-a-normal-murder-case-you-actually-have-a-body-statistician-richard-gill-says-in-science \u2018In a normal murder case, you actually have a body\u2019 statistician Richard Gill says in Science 02 February 2023 After diving into the murder trial of nurse Lucia de Berk, statistician Richard Gill became a leading expert on the statistics of medical murder cases. Together with colleagues, he now wrote a peer reviewed report about the statistical missteps in past medical murder trials. It gives recommendations for how legal systems can do better. \u2018People\u2019s intuition of an \u201cimpossible coincidence\u201d sometimes falsely joins the dots in the evidence,\u2019 he says in the Science Magazine. Lucia de Berk was under trial for being present at a suspiciously high number of deaths and resuscitations. His wife told him about a \u201cwitch trial\u201d and saying: \u2018They\u2019re using statistics; you should get involved, do something useful.\u2019 At first Gill didn\u2019t get involved, but years later the case would turn out to be the pinnacle of his career. He proved that the nurse went to jail based on bad statistics, tunnel visions and assumptions. \u2018In a normal murder case, you actually have a body which has clearly been murdered,\u2019 he says. \u2018When there\u2019s only a suspicious cluster of deaths, investigators may assume a murderer is at work and selectively focus on evidence that supports that assumption.\u2019 Statistics to the rescue When the court of appeals announced the acquittal of the nurse, Gill was there to celebrate. \u2018It was one of the biggest events of my life,\u2019 he says. \u2018It was really joyful.\u2019 And that became the start of lending his expertise as a statistician in medical murder cases.  With that expertise, Gill and his colleagues wrote a report published by the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) in September 2022. That report  exposes the statistical missteps in past medical murder trials and makes recommendations for how legal systems can do better. One of the things that the report recommends is for investigators to be \u2018blinded\u2019. For example, having pathologists classify deaths as suspicious or not, without knowing which medical personnel were in attendance. The next generation of statisticians Gill hopes the report will help with new similar cases.  The one of the British nurse Lucy Letby for expample, who is now on trial for the alleged murder of seven babies. Gill is retired, but still follows the case closely. As he will not be working much on forensic cases anymore, Gill hopes younger statisticians will feel compelled to help when bad statistics lead to injustice, as he did. \u2018I sensed that in the Lucia case, I could make a difference. And that therefore I must.\u2019 Want to know more? Read more about Richard Gill and his career in the article on the website of Science. ","author_name":"Raj Persaud in conversation - the podcasts","author_url":"http:\/\/rajpersaud.libsyn.com\/webpage","html":"