Judge William Sullivan in the US state of Massachusetts invalidated the trial against local resident Lindsay Clancy, who was accused of murdering her three young children. The decision was announced at a meeting on Friday, September 4, after the jury, after deliberations that took a total of more than 24 hours, could not decide whether Clancy was guilty of conscious murder or not guilty due to postpartum psychosis.
Massachusetts law requires 12-member juries to reach only a unanimous decision. According to CNN, citing notes submitted to the judge, 11 people argued for the innocence of 36-year-old Clancy, while one juror refused to join them.
Clancy's lawyer, Kevin Reddington, expressed his outrage at the situation, suggesting that the juror was lying to the court about his beliefs and was not guided by the rule of “proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Sullivan denied Reddington additional questioning of all jurors, but allowed him to file an urgent appeal to the Massachusetts supreme court in a single-judge format.
As CNN notes, the complaint was registered in one hour, which Sullivan allocated for this. Legal analysts at CNN and NBC News believed there was little chance of an appeal because the state's top judges were unlikely to find fault with Sullivan's actions. The state's highest court soon announced that it was rejecting the appeal.
A judge's decision on a mistrial in the United States means the defendant can be re-indicted. In this case, a new jury is selected for a new trial.
The current board was given a special final warning earlier this week, which is being called a “dynamite instruction.” In such situations, the jury is hinted that it is desirable to accept the decision because the court believes that another jury will have the same arguments.
Clancy's lawyers feared the jury was being pressured, but they still failed to reach an agreement after 36 hours of deliberations over seven days. Sullivan received grounds to declare a nullity after the jury sent word for the third time that there was no unanimity.
Pink in support of Clancy
Clancy did not speak in court in her own defense, but was present at the hearings. The mother admitted the murder of the children, but denied her guilt in the charges brought against her for premeditated murder.
Prosecutors said they believed Clancy acted knowingly when she strangled her three children—5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan—with rubber exercise bands at home in 2023.
After killing the children, Clancy jumped out of the window – she remained alive, but partially paralyzed. Due to this, she moves in a wheelchair.
Clancy's defense and her family argued in court that she was a caring mother before she developed psychosis after the birth of her youngest child. She sought help from doctors but received “disgusting” care, Reddington claimed and blamed the drugs she was prescribed.
The lawyer also reported that Clancy was haunted by a “male voice” in his head, calling for him to kill the children. She complained about this to her husband Patrick, who divorced her after the tragedy. He was not at home at the time of his children's death.
The trial against Clancy caused widespread public outcry. Numerous videos have appeared on social media in support of the woman, and supporters of her innocence, dressed in pink, gathered outside the courtroom on Friday. By the way, the defendant’s lawyer chose a shirt of the same color for the decisive hearing.
