Judge Declares Clancy Mistrial After Jury Deadlocks and Defense Seeks Emergency Relief [VIDEO]

Adriana Stone 0 2 min read

Judge Declares Clancy Mistrial After Jury Deadlocks and Defense Seeks Emergency Relief

Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial Friday in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial after jurors could not reach a unanimous decision.

The ruling came after seven days of deliberations and repeated reports that the jury remained split. At 2:20 p.m. ET, an emergency request for relief was denied, and the judge officially declared the mistrial. The prosecution has already told the court it plans to retry the case.

The defense was given one hour to appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Attorney Kevin Reddington asked for emergency intervention on Clancy’s behalf. Another update reported that the court granted the defense team a hearing. The Zoom hearing took place, and the court was expected to issue a decision shortly.

Fox News also obtained Reddington’s appeal filing. In it, he accused the lone male juror who remained opposed to the defense position of being “biased” against people with “debilitating mental illness.” The defense has argued that Clancy should not be found guilty by reason of insanity.

Clancy admitted to killing her three children, according to the report. Cora, 5, Callan, 8 months, and Dawson, 3, were found dead in the basement of the family’s home in Clancy, Massachusetts, in January 2023.

The defense argued that Clancy was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and heard voices commanding her to kill her children. Prosecutors argued that the killings were deliberate and premeditated. They also said Clancy sent her husband out on an errand while the killings took place.

The jury included nine women and three men. Jurors were considering five possible outcomes: first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, not guilty, or not guilty due to a lack of criminal responsibility.

On Thursday, the defense asked the judge to remove one juror, arguing that he was not following the rules on reasonable doubt. Sullivan denied that request. He then reviewed the reasonable-doubt standard with the jury and ordered deliberations to continue.

On Friday, Reddington accused the lone holdout of lying under oath. He claimed the juror had promised to follow the law but was refusing to apply the reasonable-doubt standard.

The argument between Reddington and Sullivan grew heated. Reddington said the judge had not given a forceful enough instruction on proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

“What do you want me to do, get a brass band?” Judge Sullivan asked Reddington. “I read the instruction as written!”

“I’m not an actor! I’m just giving the instruction!” the judge shouted.

When Reddington accused the judge of “glossing” over the reasonable-doubt issue, Sullivan pushed back.

“I am not glossing over the issue. I’ve thought about this issue long enough,” the judge said.

The case now moves toward a possible retrial while the defense continues its effort to obtain emergency relief from the state’s highest court.

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