PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS: A judge moved to declare a mistrial on Friday in the closely watched murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, after jurors said for a third time that they could not reach a unanimous verdict over the deaths of her three young children.
The jury had deliberated for nearly 40 hours over seven days following a six-week trial before informing Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan that it remained deadlocked. “It is with a heavy heart we are unable to come to a unanimous decision,” jurors said in a note.
Sullivan said he had reached the point where he had no choice but to declare a mistrial. The decision was temporarily held up, however, after defence attorney Kevin Reddington requested time to seek an emergency stay from a higher court in an effort to have deliberations continue.
Clancy, 36, was charged with killing her children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, eight months — at the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January 2023. She did not dispute causing their deaths, leaving the central issue at trial whether she was criminally responsible for her actions.
Her defence argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and therefore lacked criminal responsibility when she killed the children. Prosecutors acknowledged that Clancy had experienced mental health problems but argued that the evidence showed she understood what she was doing and knew that her actions were wrong.
Tensions surrounding the deliberations intensified on Thursday when the jury indicated that a single member was refusing to apply the judge’s instructions concerning reasonable doubt. Reddington sought to have that juror removed, but Sullivan refused, saying it would be inappropriate for the court to take sides within the jury’s deliberations.
The case has attracted intense attention in the United States and prompted wider discussion about postpartum psychiatric illness and how the criminal justice system assesses responsibility in cases involving severe maternal mental illness.
If the mistrial stands, prosecutors will have to determine whether to try Clancy again, drop the charges or pursue another resolution of the case.