Judge declares mistrial in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial after emergency appeal denied
Next hearing set for Sept. 29
WARNING:
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hearing → declare → Sept.
This article contains details about violence against children and attempted suicide.
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article → contain → children
The judge in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial has officially declared a mistrial after the defence's eleventh-hour emergency appeal was denied, bringing this chapter of the case that has captivated spectators to a dramatic close.
"I'm going to declare that the jury is deadlocked and I'm going to declare a mistrial," Judge William Sullivan told the court Friday afternoon.
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Sullivan → declare → mistrial
He thanked the jury — who three different times said they couldn't come to a unanimous decision — and said they should be proud of what they did and their "incredible commitment" after deliberating for seven days.
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they → thank → days
He then discharged them.
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He → discharge → them
Neither the jury, Clancy nor her family appeared to show any emotion during the judge's announcement.
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jury → appear → announcement
Defence lawyer Kevin Reddington told reporters that his client "deserved an acquittal."
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client → tell → acquittal
He said Clancy was "not good" when a reporter asked how she was doing after the mistrial.
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she → say → mistrial
Clancy's parents and her sister were escorted by state police from the courthouse, saying nothing to reporters.
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parents → escort → reporters
Her ex-husband Patrick Clancy, the trial's first witness, has said in past interviews that he forgives her and believes her actions were the result of mental illness.
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actions → say → illness
A statement released by his attorney Friday said "the prospect of reliving this tragedy through another trial is extraordinarily painful."
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prospect → release → trial
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said there would not be an immediate decision about a second trial.
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Cruz → say → trial
He said public opinion would not influence any decision.
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opinion → say → decision
He praised the work of trial prosecutors and said "this was and has always been about getting justice for those three little babies."
A closely watched case
The case gripped the public for the past five weeks, sparking debates about maternal mental health, launching online conspiracy theories and creating dramatic moments both inside the court and out throughout the livestreamed trial.
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case → praise → trial
Clancy, 36, had been charged with murder in the killing of her three children in 2023 while her then-husband was running an errand.
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husband → charge → errand
Jurors in Plymouth County Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., have heard that she strangled Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and eight-month-old Callan with exercise bands in the basement of their home in the Boston suburb of Duxbury.
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she → hear → Duxbury
She then attempted to kill herself.
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She → attempt → herself
Clancy's defence didn't dispute the killings.
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defence → dispute → killings
But they argued she isn't criminally responsible because she had bipolar disorder and was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare and little-understood mental health condition that can affect a new mom's sense of reality.
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that → argue → reality
Prosecutors argued Clancy is guilty of three counts of first-degree murder because she plotted to get her husband out of the house so she could carry out the killings.
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she → argue → killings
On Friday, the judge set a hearing for Sept. 29 at which the Associated Press reports Reddington, the defence attorney, likely will ask Sullivan to declare Clancy not guilty, a rare step but one that is allowed under state law.
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that → set → law
Emergency appeal denied
Jurors on Friday reported for the third time they could not come to a unanimous decision, adding this time they would be unable to do so.
"It is with a heavy heart that we report we are unable to come to a unanimous decision and will not be able to," said the note read aloud by Sullivan.
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note → deny → Sullivan
The deadlocked jury had just returned for a seventh day of deliberations after strict instructions from the judge to apply the rules of reasonable doubt.
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jury → return → doubt
"You must follow the law as I give it to you whether you agree with it or not," Sullivan had told jurors.
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Sullivan → follow → jurors
After reading the note, Sullivan said he would be declaring a mistrial.
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he → read → mistrial
But before Sullivan could bring the jury back in, Reddington pushed back and asked for a stay.
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Reddington → bring → stay
"So we're going to tell this jury to come back tomorrow? …
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we → go → jury
As they're walking in, you're asking for this," Sullivan said.
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Sullivan → walk → this
"What I'm asking for is time to file a single-justice appeal for this travesty," Reddington said.
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Reddington → ask → travesty
Sullivan gave him an hour.
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Sullivan → give → hour
Defence attorneys then wrote the top court in Massachusetts in their emergency request for relief that the reasoning of one of the jurors "reflects a bias against those who suffer from debilitating mental illness."
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who → write → illness
Dramatic end to a dramatic trial
This comes after a dramatic turn of events in court Thursday revealed a single juror as the only holdout.
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turn → come → holdout
In a note delivered to Sullivan, the jury's foreperson told the judge one juror among the 12 won't follow the court's instructions about reasonable doubt.
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juror → deliver → doubt
During Thursday's sidebar with legal teams and eventually Clancy herself, observers noted Reddington became heated, slamming documents down on the desk and gesticulating as he spoke to the judge.
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he → note → judge
During sidebars, no one in court can hear what is being discussed.
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what → hear → court
Proceedings once again became heated on Friday, before the jury was brought in, as the lawyers and Sullivan argued about how to handle Thursday's letter from the jury.
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lawyers → become → jury
Prosecutors argued the jurors should be instructed to return to deliberations, while Reddington disagreed, arguing the juror in question "looked you in the eye, and lied" about following Sullivan's instructions.
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juror → argue → instructions
Judge lectures Lindsay Clancy jury on reasonable doubt, tells them to keep deliberating
Lindsay Clancy supporter arrested outside court, and other dramatic moments from the murder trial
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Judge → lecture → trial
Every defendant is entitled to have a juror who is "true to their oath," Reddington said.
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Reddington → entitle → oath
Sullivan ultimately ruled that he will not do a further inquiry of the juror, saying he would remind them to follow the law "whether they like it not."
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they → rule → it
…and 9 more, not listed.
