Clancy Defense Says One Juror Won't Follow Law

The jury weighing whether Lindsay Clancy is criminally responsible for killing her three children deliberated for a sixth day Thursday and did not reach a verdict. Judge William Sullivan has not declared a mistrial.

Two developments came out of the courtroom Thursday afternoon. Each rests on a single outlet, and The Frank is naming the outlet on each.

A fourth note, per The Gateway Pundit

The Gateway Pundit reported that the jury sent Sullivan a fourth note on Thursday afternoon, on day six of deliberations, and that the judge explained reasonable doubt and sent the jury back to keep deliberating.

No other outlet reviewed for this article reports a fourth note or describes what it said. TMZ, separately, reported Thursday that the jury had given the judge a note and that the participants were back inside the courtroom. TMZ did not number the note.

Before Thursday, the jury had twice told Sullivan it could not agree, according to the Associated Press.

The defense's claim about a juror

The New York Post reported that defense attorney Kevin Reddington told the court one juror "refuses to listen to the law."

The Post Millennial reported the fuller line it attributes to Reddington: "There's one juror who refuses to listen to the law that you've given him or her on reasonable doubt." The Post Millennial put deliberations at more than 35 hours.

This is an allegation made by the defense in open court. It is not a finding by the judge, and no source reviewed for this article reports that Sullivan has ruled on it, questioned the juror, or removed anyone from the panel. The New York Post reported that the judge and the lawyers returned to sidebar after the jury went back to its room.

The mistrial that was already denied — and what it was about

There is one hard mistrial fact in this trial's record, and it is not about the deadlock.

On Monday, Aug. 24, during testimony, Reddington moved for a mistrial after the term "mortal sin" came up a second time, arguing prosecutors had improperly injected religion into the case. Sullivan denied the motion, instructed jurors to disregard the testimony and reprimanded the prosecution, according to CBS Boston, NBC News, Scripps News and the Patriot Ledger.

That ruling came weeks before the jury got the case. It is separate from the current deadlock, and it did not end the trial.

What is not established

No mistrial has been declared. Not one source reviewed for this article reports that Sullivan declared a mistrial, and the reporting as of Thursday evening describes a jury still deliberating.

Coverage describing a "growing risk" of a mistrial — the framing used by the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times and CTV News — is an assessment of where the case could go, not an account of something that happened. The New York Post reported earlier Thursday that Sullivan "may be forced" to declare a mistrial if he receives a third impasse note. That is the Post's characterization of the judge's options, not a ruling.

The case

Clancy, 36, is a former labor and delivery nurse. She does not deny strangling her three children in the basement of the family's home in 2023, the Los Angeles Times reports. Her attorney argues postpartum psychosis drove her actions; prosecutors say she knew what she was doing.

The question in front of the jury is criminal responsibility. If jurors find she was criminally responsible, they can convict on murder or manslaughter, CTV News reports. If she is acquitted, a judge could still order her confined to a mental health facility if an evaluation finds she poses a danger to the public.

TMZ reported that Reddington brought boxes of letters from supporters to court during deliberations.