If the Lindsay Clancy murder trial jury can't reach a verdict, what happens next?

The jury in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial informed Judge William Sullivan on Tuesday that they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict, leading to a deadlocked jury situation. This deadlock has been observed in several high-profile cases in Massachusetts, such as those involving Karen Read and Emanuel Lopes, who faced similar outcomes after multiple rounds of deliberations.

In both the Lopes and Read trials, the judges employed a "dynamite" charge, known as the Tuey-Rodriguez instruction, which aims to encourage the jury to reach a decision. Under this instruction, if a jury remains deadlocked for a third time, the judge has the discretion to declare a mistrial, which would return the defendant to custody at Tewksbury State Hospital under psychiatric care.