Kevin Reddington made a last-ditch appeal on Friday to prevent a mistrial in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial, after a Massachusetts judge said he was prepared to end proceedings when jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
Judge William Sullivan gave the defence one hour to petition the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court for an emergency stay, delaying the formal declaration while the application was filed.
The move followed the jury’s third report that it could not agree after seven days of deliberations over whether Ms Clancy was criminally responsible for the deaths of her three children in 2023.
Reddington had argued that one juror was refusing to apply the law on reasonable doubt and should be removed from the panel. The judge rejected that request, saying the note from the foreperson did not establish that the juror was refusing to follow the law.
The defence lawyer also asked the court to question jurors about whether they had reached agreement on any individual charge, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter.
He argued that if a verdict had been reached on any charge, double-jeopardy protections could prevent prosecutors from retrying Ms Clancy on that count. Prosecutors opposed the request, saying the jury had repeatedly reported a deadlock and that there was no basis for further questioning.
“What I’m asking for is time to file a single-justice appeal for this travesty,” Reddington told the court as the judge prepared to bring the jury in and announce the mistrial. Judge Sullivan replied that he would hold off for an hour. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/a939db73e864393eb9c727daa788e7a2))
The emergency petition was filed at 12.29pm on Friday, according to the Associated Press. It will be considered by a single justice of Massachusetts’s highest court, who will decide whether the trial judge abused his discretion or made a serious legal error that should be corrected before a mistrial is declared. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/bf675a5705897815848871d8885441b2))
Earlier, Judge Sullivan sent the jury back to deliberate after reminding members that they must follow the law as he had explained it, whether they agreed with it or not.
Ms Clancy, 36, has admitted killing her children but denies criminal responsibility. Her lawyers say she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis, while prosecutors maintain that she understood her actions and planned the killings.
If the mistrial goes ahead, prosecutors will have to decide whether to seek a retrial, negotiate a plea agreement or abandon the case. The emergency appeal means the trial had not formally ended while the court awaited the next decision. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/bf675a5705897815848871d8885441b2))
