Judge Declares Mistrial in Clancy Triple-Murder Case

Reddington called the decision to declare a mistrial a "travesty" and asked to file an emergency motion with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Sullivan gave him an hour to file the appeal — Fox News describes it as a one-hour stay — and asked the court to investigate whether the holdout juror could follow the law, arguing that "juror's reasoning reflects a bias against those who suffer from debilitating mental illness."

"The jury in a case like this really acts as a proxy for the moral sense of the community," David Rossman, an emeritus criminal law professor at Boston University, told PBS in an email, adding that "there's an overwhelming moral quality to the ultimate decision the jury is asked to make."

In his first statement after the mistrial, Mediaite reports, Cruz described the case as the "cruel and calculated killing of three innocents" and criticized defense arguments and "observers several steps removed" from the case. In separate remarks reported by Mediaite, he called social media threats sent to his prosecution team "disgusting to me."

Reddington said Clancy was "not good" after the declaration but would be ready for a retrial, and told reporters Cruz "knows that he was crushed. He doesn't have a case." Before the jury's note, he had said he was prepared to go again: "I've got witnesses lined up. We're all set. So let's go."

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President Trump was asked about the case at the White House on Friday. "It's a shame. It's a horrible tragedy. I see what's happened and it looks like it's a hung jury," he said, per the Daily Mail, which also quotes him saying Clancy "did a horrible, horrible thing." Cleveland.com and the New York Post report the same remarks.