Lone Juror Stalls Clancy Triple-Murder Verdict
Lone Juror Stalls Clancy Triple-Murder Verdict
The News
A single holdout juror is blocking a verdict in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children, after the jury's foreperson told the judge Thursday that one juror will not follow the court's instructions on reasonable doubt.
The deadlocked jury returned Friday to Plymouth Superior Court for a seventh day of deliberations, with PBS NewsHour reporting the panel is apparently stuck 11-1.
Jurors have twice told Judge William Sullivan they cannot agree. If they still can't, the judge could declare a mistrial.
The Case
Clancy, 36, a former labor and delivery nurse, does not deny strangling her three children in the basement of the family's home in 2023, according to the Associated Press. Her attorney argues postpartum psychosis drove her actions; prosecutors say she knew what she was doing.
Timeline
Clancy strangles her three children in the basement of their Massachusetts home, a killing her defense does not dispute.
The jury in Plymouth Superior Court begins deliberating whether Clancy is criminally responsible.
The foreperson sends Judge Sullivan a note saying one juror is not following his instructions on reasonable doubt. Sullivan questions each juror individually in private, rereads his reasonable-doubt instructions, sends the panel back to deliberate, then sends them home for the night.
The jury returns for a seventh day of deliberations. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington files an emergency motion asking that all matters in the case be handled in open court.
Reactions
Reddington told reporters after leaving court Thursday that the foreperson's note identified the holdout juror to the judge. He said he hopes lawyers on both sides get to argue over exactly how the judge questions that juror before it happens — and that the debate happen in open court, not in a private sidebar.
The Daily Mail, covering the trial live, quoted Reddington saying of the prosecution: "I kicked the s*** out of their case."
David Yannetti, the former defense attorney for Karen Read, praised Clancy's lawyer as deliberations dragged on, telling Yahoo News that Reddington may be "cut from a different cloth."
Boston.com reported that the holdout juror could face additional scrutiny Friday, according to a lawyer following the case.
What's Next
Judge Sullivan is expected to question the identified juror Friday. Reddington's emergency motion asks that the inquiry, and everything else left in the trial, happen in open court.
Deliberations continue. If the panel reports a final deadlock, Sullivan can declare a mistrial, which would leave prosecutors to decide whether to try Clancy again.
More
Postpartum psychosis is estimated to affect 1 to 2 of every 1,000 women after delivery, according to the Associated Press. Experts at the Cleveland Clinic describe it as a mental health emergency that alters a person's sense of reality. Most women with the condition do not harm their children, but those with severe cases may try to.
Poll
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