After Lindsay Clancy mistrial, what happens next?

The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy ended without a verdict after the jury spent seven days deliberating and reported that it could not reach a unanimous decision. Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial on Friday after the 12 jurors remained deadlocked over whether Clancy was criminally responsible for killing her three young children at her Massachusetts home in January 2023.

The jury had repeatedly told the judge it was split. A note from the foreperson indicated that one juror remained opposed to the others. Sullivan sent the panel back several times in an effort to produce a verdict, but the deadlock held after weeks of emotional testimony and days of waiting.

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gut-wrenching outcome

Clancy will remain in custody under psychiatric care at Tewksbury State Hospital, where she has been held since 2023. The mistrial returns her to the conditions that existed before the trial. An insanity acquittal would also have kept her in a mental health facility indefinitely, while a finding of criminal responsibility would have sent her to prison.

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I think they'll likely come back a second time

The next decision belongs to Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz. He could seek a new jury trial on first-degree murder or a lesser charge, consider a plea deal, or decline to retry the case. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington said Clancy was not emotionally prepared for another trial, though he would be ready to defend her if prosecutors proceed.

CBS News legal analysts Caroline Polisi and Jessica Levinson said a retrial remained possible. Polisi called the mistrial a "gut-wrenching outcome" and pointed to Karen Read's case, where prosecutors retried her after a hung jury. Levinson said a second jury could view the evidence differently and prosecutors could present the case under a different charge.

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I think it's entirely possible that they would move forward with a retrial for a couple of reasons