With jury deadlocked, judge declares a mistrial in Lindsay Clancy's murder case
The judge has declared a mistrial in the case of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts woman charged with murdering her three young children in 2023.
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judge → deadlocke → 2023
This came after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court denied the request of Clancy's defense attorney for an emergency appeal Friday.
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Court → come → appeal
After deliberating for six days, the jury told the judge they could not reach a verdict because one juror did not agree with the 11 others.
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juror → deliberate → others
The judge said the jury's note read, as WBUR reported, "It is with a heavy heart that we report we are unable to come to a unanimous decision, and we will not be able to."
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we → say → decision
Clancy, 36, was charged with strangling 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan, in the family's home in Duxbury, Mass.
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Clancy → charge → Duxbury
Her defense argued she should not be held criminally liable because she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis at the time, an approach often called the insanity defense.
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she → argue → time
The prosecution argued Clancy was well enough to plan and act with intention.
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Clancy → argue → intention
After declaring the mistrial, Judge William Sullivan thanked the jury for how hard they worked on the case.
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they → declare → case
"Each one of you knew how long the case was going to go.
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case → know → you
You knew how difficult the case was going to be to listen to, facts wise.
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case → know → ?
But still, you braced for that duty."
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you → brace → duty
The district attorney will now decide whether to re-try the case.
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attorney → decide → case
Clancy will remain in custody in a state hospital where she has been held for more than three years.
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she → remain → years
In a press conference after the mistrial was declared, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz declined to say whether his office would pursue a retrial.
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office → declare → retrial
He noted it had been an "emotional trial for everybody.
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it → note → everybody
"But in the end, I bring it all back to the child victims in this case, Cora, Dawson, and Callen.
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I → bring → case
This was, and has always been, about getting justice for those three little babies," he said.
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he → get → babies
Speaking outside the court Friday, defense attorney Kevin Reddington praised Clancy for enduring in such a difficult situation.
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Reddington → speak → situation
"It's not right what she had to go through because she grieves the loss of those three children," he told reporters.
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he → have → reporters
"Every time somebody had something to say about those young kids, Lindsey would smile and say, 'I'm glad.'
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I → have → kids
She wants them to be remembered."
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them → want → ?
Reddington also said the jury's 11-1 split should make the prosecution rethink re-trying the case.
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prosecution → say → case
"If I was Tim Cruz, I would probably say I don't think I want to do a retrial because he's going to lose," Reddington said.
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Reddington → say → retrial
The Supreme Judicial Court heard an emergency appeal from Reddington in the case early Friday afternoon.
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Court → hear → case
The appeal asked that the court either excuse the juror who was allegedly refusing to follow instructions or inquire further to determine whether the juror could in fact follow the judge's instructions to correctly apply the law.
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juror → ask → law
Clancy's lawyers wrote in the appeal that the holdout juror's "reasoning reflects a bias against those who suffer from debilitating mental illness."
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who → write → illness
Reddington had asked Judge Sullivan to dismiss the holdout juror on Thursday.
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Reddington → ask → Thursday
Reddington referenced two notes the jury foreperson sent the court about the juror, who, according to Reddington, admitted doubt but refused to join the other 11 jurors in finding Clancy not guilty.
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Clancy → reference → jurors
However, Judge Sullivan denied that request.
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Sullivan → deny → request
He did however give the jury new instructions on the meaning of "reasonable doubt."
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He → give → doubt
When asking the judge to give him time for an appeal on Friday, Reddington said of the holdout juror, "I believe that this is a situation where there is a clear and present danger that this individual, for some reason — what it is we don't know — but is taking a position that's intractable, regardless of proof beyond a reasonable doubt."
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that → ask → doubt
Reddington also asked the judge to survey the jury to see if they could reach an agreement on a lesser charge, such as second-degree murder or manslaughter, before declaring a mistrial, so that Clancy couldn't be tried again for first-degree murder.
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Clancy → ask → murder
The judge denied that request as well.
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judge → deny → request
Grueling weeks of testimony
In a trial that stretched over five weeks, included more than 80 witnesses and attracted international attention to the issue of postpartum mental health, jurors heard competing theories about Clancy's mental condition.
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jurors → stretch → condition
While both sides agreed she was struggling, the key question under Massachusetts law was whether her mental state made her unable to tell right from wrong, or to follow the law, as WBUR reported.
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WBUR → agree → law
Clancy's attorneys said she was in the grips of mental illness at the time of the killings.
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she → say → killings
The defense called forensic psychologist Paul Zeizel, who testified that Clancy was experiencing postpartum psychosis, as NPR reported, noting that she said she heard a male voice ordering her to kill her children and herself.
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she → call → children
She attempted suicide shortly after killing the children.
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She → attempt → children
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or be in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
They also noted that she sought medical help repeatedly, but they said she didn't receive effective care and was overmedicated.
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she → know → care
(Clancy and her ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, have filed separate medical malpractice suits against some of her health care providers.)
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Clancy → file → providers
…and 21 more, not listed.
