Major drama unfolded in the courtroom on Thursday after the judge in the Lindsay Clancy triple-murder trial received a note from the jury about a one-to-eleven jury split and a disagreement about reasonable doubt.
Judge William Sullivan brought jurors back into the courtroom and had them swear under oath, one by one, that they would follow instructions when deliberating and reaching their verdict. After all jurors did that, Judge Sullivan directed them to continue deliberations.
An angry-looking Kevin Reddington, Clancy’s defense lawyer, was then allowed to speak before the court. He suggested a single juror be replaced because they were not following the law when it comes to the standard of reasonable doubt. The state said they had no issues with the judge’s instructions.
“If we come back here in a half an hour with a mistrial because of a juror that has just spurned the instructions of this court, it’s a shame, it’s a real shame,” an animated Reddington told the judge.
Ultimately, Judge Sullivan signaled against Reddington and said he would not “side” with the single juror or the other eleven, and therefore deliberations will continue.
Following the courtroom drama, the jury deliberated for about 30 minutes before they were brought back and dismissed for the day. Deliberations will stretch into their seventh day come Friday morning.
Clancy is on trial for killing her three young children. She does not dispute killing them, but is leaning on what’s commonly called the insanity defense, arguing that she was suffering postpartum psychosis at the time she killed them.
Jurors have been deliberating for about 35 hours so far, and twice they have sent a note to the judge saying they are deadlocked. The panel is weighing a range of possible outcomes for Clancy, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, not guilty by reason of insanity, or a full acquittal. To reach a verdict, jurors must reach a unanimous decision on one of those charges.
When they sent the note back on Wednesday and indicated a deadlocked position, Sullivan issued a final “Tuey-Rodriguez” or “dynamite” instruction, urging jurors to reconsider their positions and make every effort to reach a unanimous verdict before a mistrial could be declared.
“The verdict to which a juror agrees must be their own, the result of their own convictions, and not a mere acquiescence in the conclusions of their fellow jurors,” Sullivan said, reading the charge. “Yet, in order to bring 12 minds to a unanimous result, you must examine the questions submitted to you with candor and with proper regard and deference and respect to the opinions of each other.”
While the state is arguing a defense centered on postpartum psychosis, the state says Clancy methodically planned the killings and was criminally responsible for her actions. Prosecutors said in closing arguments that Clancy gave up on trying to get better, decided to kill herself, and decided she was going to take her children with her.
Clancy is currently in custody at Tewksbury State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital, where she is being transported to and from the courthouse.
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