Prominent Republicans on Friday criticized a Massachusetts jury for not finding Lindsay Clancy guilty of first-degree murder, after they failed to reach a unanimous verdict following the weekslong trial.
Clancy admitted she killed her three young children in 2023, but argued she should not be held criminally responsible, claiming she was in a state of psychosis when she strangled them. William Sullivan, who is overseeing the murder trial at Plymouth Superior Court, declared a mistrial after the 12-person jury deliberated seven days but could not reach a unanimous consensus on whether Clancy was psychotic or in her right mind during the killings. Eleven of 12 jurors were prepared to find her not guilty, but there was one holdout in the case, leading to the mistrial declaration.
President Donald Trump said following the hung jury declaration that the killings were a “horrible tragedy,” as top Republicans quickly weighed in. Some faulted the 11 jury members for not finding her guilty of first-degree murder, or intentionally planning the killings ahead of time. Others targeted defense attorney Kevin Reddington for partially revealing the identity of one of the jurors. Reddington, who appears to be gearing up for a new trial in the fall, exposed the holdout juror as one of the three men on the jury.
“Miscarriage of justice. The victims deserved far, far better than a kangaroo court,” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said in a post to X referring to 8-month-old Callan, 5-year-old Cora, and 3-year-old Dawson.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) questioned, “Is Massachusetts a safe place for children?” and said it was “sad” the holdout juror would “need to have security,” while Rep. Mike Rulli (R-OH) hailed the lone male as a “hero” for having “the courage to hold a serial killer accountable for her actions.”
“This case is not about the excuses for why she committed murder,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said. “This is about justice for the three beautiful souls whose lives were taken after their mother strangled them with her bare hands and workout bands.”
Will Clancy be retried?
The nearly six-week murder trial gripped the nation, highlighting the divide between those who framed the case as a referendum over mental health problems and those who believed the evidence indicated Clancy was in her right mind when the murders were committed.
The case could be retried depending on the district attorney’s decision. Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz told reporters that he had not yet made a decision regarding a retrial.
Reddington, Clancy’s lead attorney, said Sullivan, the judge, indicated that a new trial could happen “sometime in the fall.”
“She’ll be ready,” Reddington said after a reporter asked if Clancy would be up for it.
The other 11 jurors “know that they were robbed — by one man — for whatever his agenda was, who stole seven weeks of the life of these other jurors that were so attentive, so beautiful, so wonderful, and listened to this evidence,” the attorney claimed. “And you could see how defeated they were sitting there. And I got a funny feeling they could go one for another week if they had to. So I hope that guy can sleep well at night.”
Before the killings, Clancy was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, postpartum depression and anxiety, a major depressive episode, and insomnia. Reddington argued that she was the victim of a broken health system that doped her up on over a dozen intense medications and failed to properly address her mental health needs as a young mother. The defense attorney said the pattern triggered the killings, when she claimed she had a psychotic episode and a command hallucination in which she heard a voice telling her to murder her children.
The prosecution acknowledged Clancy’s mental health struggles, but argued that her behavior the day of the killings pointed to someone who was in their right mind, saying evidence showed she carefully plotted the timing of the murders, sending her husband out of the house on errands and Googling how long it would take. Psychiatric expert witnesses brought in by the prosecution also cast doubt on her claims of a command hallucination, saying the details and timing of her alleged psychotic break are decidedly out of character with how such episodes normally occur. Clancy has not been diagnosed with psychosis.
What will the prosecution do?
The burden of proof was on the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Clancy was in her right mind at the time of the killings.
Following the mistrial declaration, some legal experts suggested that the prosecution aimed too high in charging Clancy with first-degree murder, noting a lower charge, such as second-degree murder or manslaughter, might have won over the jury.
Attorney Alan Dershowitz predicted prosecutors won’t try for first-degree murder charges if the case is tried again, and said a plea deal makes the most sense for both sides, during a Fox News interview.
“If it is an 11-to-1 jury, they miss by a considerable margin. … They may want to drop murder one,” George Washington Law School professor Jonathan Turley added. “Prosecutors often overcharge in these cases. A murder one charge, I can tell you as a criminal defense attorney, tends to work in favor of the criminal defense because it is such a high standard … it sort of sucks the oxygen out of the room.”
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After the mistrial declaration, Clancy returned to Tewksbury State Hospital, where she is under psychiatric care.
“It’s hard not to follow it; it’s on TV,” Trump said of her murder trial, following the mistrial announcement. “She did a horrible, horrible thing, but you’ll find out what the price to pay is — mental institution or jail … I guess they’re going to go through another trial — it’s too bad.”