Judge says he will declare mistrial in Lindsay Clancy case after jury deadlocks

The Lindsay Clancy trial reached a dramatic impasse Friday when jurors said for a third time that they could not agree on whether she was criminally responsible for strangling her three young children in 2023. Judge William Sullivan said he would declare a mistrial, then gave Clancy’s defense attorney an hour to appeal.

“I’m going to declare a mistrial at this point,” Sullivan said in court. The announcement followed a seventh day of deliberations and a jury note saying members still could not reach a unanimous decision.

The deadlock followed an extraordinary disclosure on Thursday, when the jury foreperson told the judge that one juror would not follow the court’s instructions on reasonable doubt. Sullivan questioned the jurors individually in private and reread his instructions, emphasizing that proof beyond a reasonable doubt does not mean proof beyond all possible doubt. He also reminded them that prosecutors carried the burden of proof.

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I’m going to declare a mistrial at this point

Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, had asked the judge to remove the juror, arguing that the person refused to follow the instructions. Prosecutors objected, and Sullivan declined. “I don’t feel it is proper for me to side with one side or the other of the deliberations,” the judge said.

The case has divided public opinion and focused attention on maternal mental health after childbirth. Clancy’s attorney said the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse suffered from postpartum psychosis when she strangled the children, the youngest eight months old, and then attempted to take her own life. Prosecutors argued that she knew what she was doing.

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I don’t feel it is proper for me to side with one side or the other of the deliberations