A judge has declared a mistrial in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict, but her defence lawyer has been given an hour to seek an emergency stay from Massachusetts’ highest court.
Judge William Sullivan announced the decision at Plymouth Superior Court on Friday, September 4, after jurors sent a third note saying they remained deadlocked on whether Clancy was criminally responsible for the deaths of her three children.
The jury had spent seven days deliberating. Before it could be brought into court for the mistrial to be formally recorded, defence lawyer Kevin Reddington asked for time to file an emergency appeal with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Mr Reddington argued that the trial had been fundamentally undermined by the judge’s refusal to remove a juror who, he claimed, had acknowledged doubts about the case but would not follow the court’s instructions on reasonable doubt.
Judge Sullivan had rejected the request to dismiss the juror after questioning members of the panel. He said he did not believe it was appropriate to take sides in the disagreement between the jurors.
The court was told that the application would seek an emergency stay preventing the mistrial from taking effect. The appeal was filed with a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, which is due to consider whether to intervene.
“I’m going to declare a mistrial at this point,” Judge Sullivan said before granting the defence additional time.
Clancy, 36, is accused of killing her children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan, at the family home in Duxbury in January 2023. She has pleaded not guilty.
Her defence has argued that she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and should not be held criminally responsible. Prosecutors have maintained that she understood her actions and intended to kill the children.
If the higher court does not halt the proceedings, the mistrial will formally end the case before the current jury. Prosecutors would then have to decide whether to seek a retrial.
