The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy
on Friday, the seventh day of deliberations, after the 12-person jury said it could not come to a unanimous decision about whether Clancy was criminally responsible for killing her three young children at her Massachusetts home in January 2023.The
uncertain
Clancy → say → January
outcome came after weeks of
and days of anxious waiting as the jury argued behind closed doors and reported being deadlocked.
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jury → come → doors
A note from the foreperson indicated there was a single holdout.
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note → indicate → foreperson
Judge William Sullivan multiple times to keep trying to reach a verdict.
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Sullivan → keep → verdict
Finally on Friday, when the jury said it was still deadlocked, Sullivan declared a mistrial.
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Sullivan → say → mistrial
Here's what could be next.
Lindsay Clancy will remain in custody
With a mistrial, the conditions for the defendant go back to what they were pretrial, CBS News Boston reported.
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News → remain → defendant
That means Clancy will remain in custody and under psychiatric care at Tewksbury State Hospital, where she has been held since 2023.
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she → mean → 2023
If Clancy had been found not guilty by reason of insanity, she would have
indefinitely.
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she → find → insanity
If she had been found criminally responsible for the murders, she would have gone to prison.
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she → find → prison
DA will decide about new trial
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DA → decide → trial
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz will decide if Clancy will be retried for first-degree murder or a lesser charge with a new jury, or possibly consider a plea deal.
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Clancy → decide → deal
Cruz could also decide not to retry the case.
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Cruz → decide → case
In a news conference outside court following the mistrial, Cruz said he would not be announcing those plans immediately.
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he → follow → plans
"I'm going to be meeting with our team, and we will address this case further at the appropriate time in the context of an official court proceeding," he said.
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he → go → proceeding
Clancy's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, said earlier in the week that he'd be ready to retry the case if needed but believes she is not emotionally prepared to undergo a second trial.
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she → say → trial
Asked about that comment at a news conference Friday, Reddington said that if a retrial goes forward this fall, "She'll be ready."
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She → ask → conference
Reddington has
Cruz for charging Clancy with first-degree murder, which mandates a jury trial.
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which → Cruz → trial
A lesser charge would have made a bench trial before a judge, or a potential , possible.
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trial → make → judge
A mistrial is "a gut-wrenching outcome," said CBS News legal analyst Caroline Polisi.
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Polisi → wrench → ?
But she believes the prosecution will consider a retrial.
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prosecution → believe → retrial
Polisi noted that after
ended in a hung jury in 2024, prosecutors "came right back" and tried it again; in the retrial.
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prosecutors → note → retrial
"I think they'll likely come back a second time," Polisi said.
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Polisi → think → ?
Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School and CBS News legal contributor, agreed.
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Levinson → agree → School
"I think it's entirely possible that they would move forward with a retrial for a couple of reasons," Levinson said.
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Levinson → think → reasons
"One, sometimes you see a really big swing in juries from one trial to another.
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you → see → another
Two, you could charge this in a very different way."
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you → charge → way
Instead of asking the jury to decide between first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, or not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, she said, "You could see the prosecution bring a much more slimmed-down case.
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prosecution → ask → case
In addition, you could potentially see a plea bargain.
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you → see → bargain
Prosecution can refine its argument in second trial, legal experts say
Polisi said prosecutors would have the opportunity to rework or refine their strategy if a second trial is held.
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trial → refine → strategy
For example, she suggested, the prosecution might want to rethink its argument that Clancy
."I would think they would really hone down their case to present it not as, you know, diminishing her mental health state, but acknowledging that she was severely depressed," Polisi said in an earlier interview.
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Polisi → suggest → interview
She said the prosecution could refocus on "whether or not she knew the difference between right and wrong, not trying to say it was a fake suicide attempt.
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it → say → right
"
Both the prosecution and defense will want to poll the jurors who deadlocked, she said, "because that will shape" future decisions and arguments.
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that → want → decisions
"We might see a completely different theory of this case if it gets tried a second time," Polisi said.
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Polisi → see → case
Jennifer Roman, a legal analyst for CBS Boston station WBZ-TV, said both sides in the case will likely be thinking about what they would do differently.
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they → say → what
"It's hard not to look back at a trial and, even on the day of, think, 'That cross-examination went well' or 'I wish I had done that a little bit differently today.'
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I → look → that
It's human nature," Roman said.
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Roman → say → ?
"Certainly, both sides have learned from this trial and will do things a little bit differently if there is in fact a second trial."
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sides → learn → fact
Polisi said there are a number of ways in which a second trial could favor the prosecution.
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trial → say → prosecution
"They get to streamline it — they get to see what they did right and incorrectly in the first trial and sort of refine it.
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they → get → it
There's no surprises from the defense," she said.
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she → be → defense
…and 15 more, not listed.
