What happens to Lindsay Clancy now that a mistrial has been declared?
PLYMOUTH, Mass. —
After seven days of deliberations, a jury could not come to a verdict in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, prompting Judge William Sullivan to declare a mistrial on Friday.
Prosecutors from the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office can choose to either retry the case or look for a plea deal, according to retired Judge James Barretto, who said they would “never” choose to drop the case.
The question remains: What’s next for Lindsay Clancy?
If the prosecution seeks to retry the case…
If the district attorney’s office seeks to retry the case, prosecutors would have to decide whether to try again with a new jury. If they do, the jury selection process would begin again and a new trial would be scheduled.
“The judge has the authority to release someone on personal recognizance or to release on terms, conditions, bail, etc.,” said Barretto. “In a murder in the first degree case, a triple murder, an infanticide, the odds of that happening are close to zero.”
Clancy would remain in a state psychiatric facility at Tewksbury Hospital, where she has been since attempting to end her life after killing her three children in 2023.
“It’s a true detention, she can’t walk off, she’s under constant supervision, that’s where she would stay between now and the next trial,” Barretto said.
A timeline for a new trial remains unclear, although her attorney, Kevin Reddington, told reporters on Thursday he’s “ready to go” as early as next week if need be.
If the prosecution seeks a plea deal…
Prosecutors could also offer a plea deal to Clancy, said Brad Bailey, a Boston defense attorney and former prosecutor who is not involved in the case.
“Any time the threat of a retrial with murder one hanging over the client is re-interjected, defense lawyers will, at the very least, explore whether or not there’s any interest in a resolution,” Bailey said.
Depending on the parameters of that deal, a number of different things could happen to Clancy.
If the prosecution decides to drop the case…
Barretto said in part the prosecution would “never” decide to drop this case.
Having said that, there are extenuating circumstances for which prosecutors may decide not to retry a high-profile case.
“Sometimes they decide not to, because of the sense that there may be the same result each time they try it, and because of the expenditures involved in trying the case to begin with, particularly when you have expert witnesses,” Bailey said. “Those are going to be expensive cases.”
Clancy doesn’t deny strangling her children at their Duxbury home, but says postpartum psychosis led to her actions.
After the killings, her husband found her badly injured in the yard, where she landed after jumping from a second-story window in an attempted suicide. She was left paralyzed from the waist down.
Prosecutors argue she knew what she was doing.
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Background of the Clancy case:
- Lindsay Clancy, 36, faces three murder charges in the 2023 deaths of her children, Cora, Dawson and Callan.
- She also jumped from a second-floor window, leaving her partially paralyzed.
- In a civil case, Lindsay Clancy alleges a “catastrophic failure” of multiple medical providers in diagnosing and treating her psychiatric condition.
- Her trial began July 20. Although her legal team offered to stipulate to the deaths of the children, she has pleaded not guilty.
- She is being held at Tewksbury State Hospital.
This case involves issues of mental health. If you or someone you know needs help, you can talk with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or sending a text message to 988, or you can chat online here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
