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Clancy Returns to Court as Defense Seeks to Block Retrial
Confirmed
In Short: Lindsay Clancy appeared in court Tuesday as her defense team argued against a retrial on double-jeopardy grounds.
Lindsay Clancy returned to court Tuesday for a hearing that could determine the future of her case after her triple-murder trial ended in a mistrial.
According to notes from the jury foreperson, 11 jurors were prepared to find Clancy not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, while a single juror, Michael Desronvil, disagreed.
Clancy's defense team is seeking dismissal on double-jeopardy grounds, arguing that Judge William Sullivan should have investigated allegations involving the holdout juror before declaring a mistrial.
The defense has also renewed its request for a required finding of not guilty, arguing that prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence to establish Clancy’s criminal responsibility.
Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington, argued that the case should be thrown out because the prosecutors failed to prove she was responsible for her children's deaths.
Reddington cited the admission of culpability while maintaining a lack of criminal responsibility, legally necessary for her defense.
The state could pursue a retrial on the same first-degree murder charges, seek lesser charges, or negotiate a plea deal.
If prosecutors pursue certain lesser charges, Clancy could potentially waive her right to a jury and opt for a bench trial, meaning Sullivan would decide the case.
The court also considered a series of motions, including a defense request to review normally confidential jury records and question the lone holdout juror about his truthfulness during jury selection and his cellphone use.
Sullivan established that Tuesday would not be the time to address the defense’s motion to further investigate the single holdout juror.
The hearing, taking place at Plymouth Superior Court, comes amid a growing dispute over the jury itself.
No one at Clancy's trial disputed that she strangled her three children with exercise bands on January 24, 2023, in the basement of their home in the Boston suburb of Duxbury.
What this adds
The defense's argument that a retrial would violate Clancy’s constitutional protection against double jeopardy is unlikely to succeed, as a jury deadlock generally allows prosecutors to retry a defendant.
The court has impounded some of the records sought by the defense but has not issued a final ruling on the new requests.
What's confirmed
- Lindsay Clancy is returning to a Massachusetts courtroom Tuesday, Sept. 29, for the first time since her murder trial ended in a mistrial, with her defense seeking to stop a retrial and prosecutors weighing what comes next.
- The defense is asking the judge to dismiss the charges on double-jeopardy grounds while also seeking scrutiny of the lone juror who prevented a verdict.
- Her defense argued that she was experiencing postpartum psychosis and therefore lacked criminal responsibility for the killings.
- Prosecutors argued that Clancy understood her actions and was criminally responsible.
- Clancy's attorneys have filed motions arguing that prosecutors should not be allowed to try her again.
- The defense argues that Judge Sullivan should have investigated complaints about the holdout juror before declaring a mistrial, questioning whether the circumstances met the legal standard of "manifest necessity" required to end the trial.
- The hearing before Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan comes less than four weeks after a 12-member jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in the case involving the deaths of Clancy's three children.
- The jury was deadlocked 11-1, with 11 jurors prepared to find Clancy not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility and one juror, Michael Desronvil, maintaining that she should be convicted.
- Clancy, 36, has acknowledged that she strangled her children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan at the family's Duxbury, Massachusetts, home on Jan.
- The mistrial left the three first-degree murder charges unresolved, meaning Clancy was neither acquitted nor convicted.
- "If the court agrees, the case is over," he said.
- Judge William Sullivan scheduled the status hearing after declaring a mistrial Sept. 4, when the 12-member jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on whether Lindsay Clancy should be convicted or found not guilty by reason of insanity.
What's still developing
- The defense argues that a retrial would violate Clancy’s constitutional protection against double jeopardy because there was no “manifest necessity” for the mistrial.
- A jury deadlock generally allows prosecutors to retry a defendant, so it’s unlikely that the defense’s argument there will succeed.
- Zuckerman, a criminal defense attorney and former New York prosecutor, told Newsweek that Clancy's defense faces an uphill battle in trying to prevent a retrial.
- "The United States Supreme Court has previously ruled that when a mistrial is declared due to a hung jury, the government may retry the defendant," he said.
- Zuckerman said an investigation would be more likely to arise if there were evidence the juror had lied to the court during jury selection, rather than simply because he held an unpopular position during deliberations.
- Zuckerman said that argument is legally distinct from the double-jeopardy claim and, if successful, could end the case without a retrial.
- However, he did confirm he expects to see one of two things tomorrow: "I am watching for whether the prosecutor indicates they need more time to decide whether they intend to retry Clancy or if they indicate that they are in negotiations regarding a potential deal for reduced charges," he told Newsweek.
- The judge has impounded some of the records sought by the defense but has not issued a final ruling on the new requests.
- Reddington has asked the court to investigate the holdout juror, raising questions about his conduct during deliberations and whether he accurately disclosed information during jury selection.
- During the trial, Clancy didn't deny that she killed her children, and her attorney, Kevin Reddington, argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was over medicated when she strangled the children and attempted to take her own life.
- That was leading many members of the public to call Clancy a "demon" and call for her execution, he said. "This is coming from politicians, from President Trump all the way down," Reddington said.
- They say jurors had been clear in notes delivered to the judge that the holdout had been refusing to apply the court's instructions on how to determine if prosecutors proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt, and that the juror should have been dismissed rather than allowing the case to be retried.