Judge declares mistrial in Lindsay Clancy murder case after jury deadlock
A Massachusetts judge ended Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial after jurors could not agree on whether she was criminally responsible for killing her three children.
A judge in Plymouth, Massachusetts, declared a mistrial on Friday in the case of Lindsay Clancy after jurors said they could not reach a unanimous verdict on the charges against her. The decision came after more than a week of deliberations in the closely watched trial.
Clancy, 36, had pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder by reason of lack of criminal responsibility. Prosecutors said she killed her three children in January 2023, while her lawyers argued that postpartum psychosis left her unable to be held criminally responsible.
Jurors had spent more than 38 hours weighing the case before telling the court they remained split. According to reporting from the courtroom, the panel had been divided 11-1 toward acquittal, but the judge declined to question or remove the holdout juror.
The case drew national attention because it centered on maternal mental health after childbirth and the legal standard for criminal responsibility. Clancy’s defense said she had sought help for her worsening condition, while prosecutors maintained she acted deliberately and knew right from wrong.
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