Jurors fail to reach verdict in Lindsay Clancy case for sixth day
Jurors in Plymouth, Massachusetts, have been trying for a sixth day to reach a unanimous verdict in the case of 36-year-old Lindsay Clancy, who is on trial on charges of murdering her three children. Attorney Kevin Reddington told the court that one juror is preventing a decision, The Jerusalem Post reports.
Defense motion
According to Reddington, a note from the foreperson stated that one member of the panel refuses to follow the court’s instructions regarding the concept of reasonable doubt. The defense attorney then asked Judge William Sullivan to remove that juror.
The judge denied the motion and sent the panel back to continue deliberations. Before that, the jurors sent the judge a note that prompted him to explain again what constitutes reasonable doubt.
A day earlier, the panel informed the court that after lengthy deliberations it still could not reach a unanimous decision. The jurors also sent a similar note on Tuesday; in both cases, the judge ordered them to continue their deliberations.
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Possible retrial
If the jurors fail to reach a verdict and the judge declares a mistrial — the termination of proceedings without a jury decision — prosecutors will have to decide whether to hold a retrial. During the six-week trial, more than 80 witnesses testified and more than 300 pieces of evidence were reviewed.
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz did not say directly whether his office would seek a retrial in the event of a mistrial. He said he would comment on the matter after the trial concludes.
Clancy faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole if she is convicted of first-degree murder. She admitted that on January 24, 2023, she strangled her three children with elastic exercise bands in the basement of their home in Duxbury, a suburb of Boston. After that, according to the source, she inflicted knife wounds on herself and jumped from a second-floor window, leaving her paralyzed.
The defense argued that Clancy was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time of the deaths of five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan. Prosecutors did not dispute that she had mental health problems, but insisted that Clancy understood the wrongfulness of her actions.
