Plymouth, Massachusetts
The Massachusetts jury in Lindsay Clancy’s homicide trial resumed deliberations for a fourth day Tuesday, as they work to resolve if prosecutors have confirmed the 36-year-old murdered her three kids past an affordable doubt.
Jurors returned to the courthouse right here in Plymouth round 9 a.m. ET.
The jury, made up of 9 girls and three males, requested to be despatched residence Monday afternoon, showing nonetheless and stoic after they entered the courtroom to be excused by Judge William F. Sullivan – a distinction to their typical demeanor.
The panel is often responsive and emphatic in their interactions with Sullivan, and have typically been seen chatting amongst themselves every time they enter or depart the courtroom. On Monday, they appeared critical; there have been no smiles, and one lady appeared deep in thought, staring into her lap after she and her fellow jurors took their seats.
“Just stay the course,” Sullivan advised them.
The choose’s encouragement adopted about 17 hours of deliberations throughout three days, as the jury debates questions round cheap doubt, prison duty and psychological sickness.
Clancy, a former labor and supply nurse, has pleaded not guilty in the killings of her kids Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months.
Both the prosecution and protection agree Clancy fatally strangled her kids with train resistance bands on January 24, 2023. To safe a homicide conviction, prosecutors should show past an affordable doubt she deliberately precipitated their deaths and is “criminally responsible.”
The jury is “hyper focused” however probably “fatigued,” physique language skilled Susan Constantine advised CNN, noting they’ve solely requested the courtroom one query to date.
“So that’s telling me they’re really working hard rebuilding this case,” she stated.
Sullivan defined the authorized which means of prison duty to the jury at the begin of the trial:
Under Massachusetts legislation, a “mental disease or defect” doesn’t want to suit into a proper medical analysis. Both sides agree Clancy had postpartum psychological well being points starting in September 2022.
Prosecutors have argued she nonetheless had the capability to understand the wrongfulness of her actions and will comply with the legislation. They identified she despatched her husband out to run errands earlier than killing the youngsters, and upon waking in a hospital, she asked for an attorney.
“I’m not saying she was happy about it. I’m saying, it was what she had to do to end her misery,” prosecutor Jennifer Sprague stated in closing arguments. “But it was a choice. It was a choice.”
However, the protection has argued she killed them throughout an episode of postpartum psychosis. They cited Clancy’s declining psychological well being in the months beforehand and her statements afterward that she heard a persistent male voice commanding her to kill her kids and herself.
“It was almost like she was a puppet and someone else was pulling the strings,” Dr. Phillip Resnick, a forensic psychiatrist, testified for the protection throughout the trial.
The trial has put a renewed highlight on maternal mental health and prompted a gaggle of pink-wearing girls to rally outdoors courtroom in a present of help for and sympathy with Clancy.
What to find out about the verdict choices for Lindsay Clancy
The jury is contemplating 5 potential verdicts: responsible of first-degree homicide, responsible of second-degree homicide, responsible of manslaughter fees, not responsible by lack of prison duty and never responsible.
First-degree homicide means she killed the kids with “deliberate premeditation” or with “extreme atrocity or cruelty,” and is punishable by life in jail with out parole. Second-degree homicide has neither situation and is punishable by life in jail with the chance of parole.
Manslaughter means she deliberately acted with “wanton or reckless conduct” that resulted in her kids’s deaths and is punishable by as much as 20 years in jail.
If the jury finds prosecutors haven’t confirmed Clancy was criminally accountable, she could be discovered not responsible by lack of prison duty. In that case, the courtroom might start the technique of committing her to a psychological well being facility.
Finally, the jury can think about a easy not responsible verdict in the event that they decide the prosecution didn’t show the case past an affordable doubt.
Per Massachusetts state law, when an individual is discovered not responsible by lack of prison duty, a courtroom can commit them to a facility after holding a listening to and figuring out if they’re mentally sick and if their launch would create a probability of great hurt to themself or others. An preliminary dedication lasts six months, and later commitments final one 12 months.
There is no most variety of re-commitments, and the affected person may stay hospitalized for the remainder of their life.
Clancy, who is partially paralyzed, has been held at Tewksbury Hospital since 2023. She continues to take a number of medicines for her psychological well being points and stays on the highest stage of suicide precautions, in line with testimony from psychologist Dr. Kirk Heilbrun.
“What it says to me is she was at risk for suicide, (and) she remains at risk for suicide. She still is,” he stated.