Jury Deadlocked in Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial

The Jury's Note

Jurors weighing murder charges against Lindsay Clancy told the judge they could not reach a unanimous decision, and were sent back to keep deliberating.

In a note read out by state Judge William F. Sullivan, jurors said that "after many hours of deliberation, we are unable to come to a unanimous decision," according to Fox News.

Sullivan brought the panel back into the courtroom and asked it to resume. "I know that this was a long trial. All right, I know there were over 80 witnesses. there were over 300 exhibits," he said, telling jurors to keep his earlier instructions in mind.

The Charges and the Defense

Clancy, described by CNN as a Massachusetts mother, is accused of murder after strangling her three young children. Fox News reports she faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Cora, Dawson and Callan.

She does not dispute killing them. Her defense argues she should not be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a severe mental illness that can follow childbirth.

Prosecutors have argued Clancy acted "intentionally, rationally, and swiftly" to kill her children. CNN reports the jury could consider charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter.

If the jury finds Clancy not criminally responsible, CNN reports she could spend the rest of her life in a hospital. The panel weighing that question is made up of nine women and three men, according to Fox News.

What Happens Next

A deadlock does not end a trial straight away. Criminal defense attorney Elyse Hershon told CNN the judge will send jurors back to deliberate, potentially more than once, and encourage them toward a unanimous verdict.

If the impasse holds, the judge may read a set of instructions known nationally as an Allen Charge, or a "dynamite charge." In Massachusetts it is called the Tuey-Rodriguez instruction, and it asks jurors to weigh the reasonableness of their own views and those of others.

Fox News reports the wording is deliberately non-coercive, and that judges are advised not to depart from the model language or to use it too early. CNN reports Sullivan has not read it in this trial, and may do so if the jury again says it is deadlocked.

Should that fail, the judge would declare a mistrial, ending the case without a resolution and leaving open the possibility of another trial. CNN notes that in 2024 the judge in Karen Read's first murder trial read the same instruction to a deadlocked jury, which still could not agree, and a mistrial followed.

Fox News also reported a question from the jury as deliberations continued. It is not yet known what that question was, or whether it would be read aloud in court.