• A Massachusetts jury told Judge William Sullivan on Tuesday that it was deadlocked after three days of deliberations in the first-degree murder trial of Lindsay Clancy.
  • Clancy, 36, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the January 2023 deaths of her three children — Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months — who were strangled with fitness bands at the family’s Massachusetts home.
  • Her lawyer does not dispute that she killed the children but argues she was experiencing postpartum psychosis; the prosecution says she made a calculated, intentional decision.
  • Judge Sullivan instructed the jurors to keep trying; he can declare a mistrial if they remain unable to agree on a verdict.

Judge may declare mistrial if deadlock persists

The jury in the first-degree murder trial of Lindsay Clancy told Judge William Sullivan on Tuesday that it was deadlocked after three days of deliberations, prompting audible gasps in the Massachusetts courtroom as the note was read aloud.

Clancy sat in a wheelchair beside her lawyer and appeared stoic as the impasse was announced. She was left paralyzed after jumping from a second-floor window shortly after the killings in January 2023.

The 36-year-old former nurse is charged with strangling her three children — Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months — with fitness bands at the family’s Massachusetts home. Her lawyer does not dispute that Clancy killed the children but argues she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time and was unable to distinguish right from wrong.

The prosecution has argued that the killings were a calculated, intentional decision and that Clancy should be held fully criminally responsible.

The jury, made up of nine women and three men, began deliberating last week after hearing weeks of testimony from dozens of witnesses.

Heather Cucolo, a New York Law School professor and expert in mental health law, told the BBC that deadlocks occur in “complex and emotionally charged trials.”

“If the deadlock persists, the judge might issue an additional ‘dynamite’ instruction [known as a Tuey-Rodriguez charge in Massachusetts] to encourage the group to consider alternative perspectives and strive for an agreement while upholding their genuine convictions,” Cucolo said.

But she characterized the instruction as “typically a last-ditch effort” from a judge.

The judge can declare a mistrial if the jury remains unable to reach a verdict. It is not uncommon for jurors in high-profile trials to struggle to reach a decision, and judges have protocols for such situations.

If convicted of first-degree murder — defined in the charge as the intentional and premeditated killing of another person — Clancy would face a mandatory life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole. She could also be found guilty of second-degree murder, committed with malice or extreme recklessness but without prior planning, or manslaughter, an unintentional killing by “wanton and reckless conduct.” Both lesser verdicts would carry time behind bars.

If found not guilty by reason of insanity, Clancy would not be released. She would instead be sent to a psychiatric hospital where her status would be periodically reviewed; she could remain hospitalized for the rest of her life.