Judge says he must declare mistrial in Clancy trial

PLYMOUTH, September 4 — The defence for Lindsay Clancy, the US mother accused of murdering her three children, has alleged that a single juror is obstructing a verdict in the high-profile trial. Clancy, 36, does not deny killing Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months, but asserts she was experiencing postpartum psychosis, which excuses her from criminal liability.

Her five-week trial, broadcast live and involving over 80 witnesses, has ignited discussions in the United States about maternal mental health. Kevin Reddington, Clancy's primary attorney, stated before a Massachusetts court that there is "one juror who is refusing to heed the law you've given them on reasonable doubt." He requested the juror's removal from the 12-person panel, but Judge William Sullivan denied the motion and sent the juror back for a seventh day of deliberations.

To secure a verdict, all 12 jurors must reach consensus. If they cannot, the judge will declare a mistrial and prosecutors will decide whether to retry the case with a new jury. On Wednesday, Sullivan issued a "dynamite charge" to the jurors, urging them to continue deliberations and break the deadlock. Clancy has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, alleging she heard a voice commanding her to kill her children.

Her lawyers argue this stemmed from postpartum psychosis. Following the killings at her family home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January 2023, Clancy jumped from a second-story window in a suicide attempt that left her paralyzed from the waist down. If found guilty of first-degree murder, she faces life in prison without parole.

Jurors can also convict Clancy of second-degree murder, manslaughter, or not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, which would result in her being placed in a psychiatric facility.