After almost six weeks, over 80 witnesses, and 35 hours of deliberation, Lindsay Clancy’s deadlocked jury of nine women and three men could not reach a unanimous decision, and her case was deemed a mistrial.
The Massachusetts mother, 36, was on trial for the murders of her three children: Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight, in January 2023.
Clancy did not deny killing her children by strangling them with an exercise band in the basement of their home, but her defence claimed she was in a state of postpartum psychosis when the crimes took place, and therefore was not criminally responsible for her actions.
The prosecution said that, while there was no doubt Clancy was suffering from depression, she still made a calculated decision to kill her children.
Now, Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, has spoken to the press about the juror who ‘refused to be persuaded’ by the other 11.
‘Where do I begin to thank these jurors, minus one,’ he said.
‘I have no idea what that guy was thinking; I have no idea he did what he did. They know that they were robbed by one man, for whatever his agenda was, who stole seven weeks of the life of these other jurors that were so attentive, so beautiful, so wonderful.’
Reddington added: ‘You could see how defeated they were sitting there. I’ve got a funny feeling that they would have gone on for another week if they had to.
‘I would like to meet with him and ask him why. I hope that guy can sleep well at night.
‘It was a horrible investigation; it was not even an investigation. This was a very sad case.’
In order to convict a defendant in the United States, juries must reach a unanimous decision.
A new jury will be selected, and the trial will commence again later this year. No new dates have been set.
Earlier this week, the jury forewoman sent the judge a note saying one juror would not follow the judge’s instructions on reasonable doubt.
Reasonable doubt is a legal term that refers to the lack of evidence proving the guilt of a criminal defendant.
This led to Clancy’s defence attorney requesting that the juror who reportedly could not agree with the other 11 be removed – a request which was denied.
Judge Sullivan told Reddington in the courtroom: ‘I don’t feel it is proper for me to side with one side or the other of the deliberations.’
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