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The judge in the Lindsay Clancy trial said he was going to declare a mistrial Friday before suddenly changing course and giving her defense attorney one hour to appeal.
Judge William Sullivan’s stunning move came after he announced in court that jurors — now in their seventh day of deliberations — sent a third note saying they can’t reach a unanimous decision on whether the Massachusetts mother is criminally responsible for killing her three young children in 2023.
“I’m going to declare a mistrial at this point,” Sullivan said before the defense asked for stay of the declaration. At the defense table, Clancy showed no visible reaction to the exchange.
The trial has generated intense interest for more than a month, deeply dividing the public and drawing attention to issues around maternal mental health after childbirth. Clancy’s attorney said she was suffering from a rare condition called postpartum psychosis when she strangled her kids, the youngest just 8 months old, then tried to take her own life.
Prosecutors said Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, knew what she was doing.
What is a mistrial?
According to the Legal Information Institute from Cornell Law, “a mistrial occurs when a jury is unable to reach a verdict and there must be a new trial with a new jury; or there is a serious procedural error or misconduct that would result in an unfair trial, and the judge adjourns the case without a decision on the merits and awards a new trial.”
In the case of the Clancy trial, jurors have been repeatedly deadlocked and unable to come to a unanimous decision.
What happens if a mistrial is declared?
The case would essentially go back to the same status as before the trial — Clancy could be charged with murder and held at a psychiatric hospital awaiting a resolution of the criminal 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.
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.
What happened in court Friday and what would an appeal mean?
Judge Sullivan read the jury foreperson’s note aloud in open court: “It is with a heavy heart that we report we are unable to come to a unanimous decision and will not be able to.”
Prosecutor Jennifer Prague told the judge a mistrial was required because he had already read to the jury the legal instruction sometimes known as a “dynamite charge.”
Reddington argued the judge still had discretion: “The court has the ability to send the jury back,” he said.
Sounding exasperated, the judge said “I don’t feel I have any choice but to declare a mistrial at this time.”
Reddington then requested that the jurors be polled “as to whether or not there has been a decision reached on murder one, murder two, manslaughter or anything like that.” If they did reach such a decision, prosecuting her again on those charges would be double jeopardy, he said.
Sprague objected, saying the court can’t delve into jury deliberations. “I don’t think anything else is required at this point other than a declaration of mistrial unfortunately.”
Sullivan then said, “Over the defendant’s objection, I am going to declare a mistrial at this point.”
Then Reddington pushed back.
“What I’m asking for is time to file a single-justice appeal for this travesty,” said Reddington, who was upset over Sullivan’s refusal to remove a juror.
“I’ll hold off for an hour,” the judge said.
The clock began around 11:30 a.m.
Criminal defense attorney Joseph Krowski, who has been observing the trial, commented about Friday’s developments outside the court in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He said the defense wants a judge on the state’s highest court to consider an emergency stay because Reddington believes there “is a structural defect to this trial by the failure to remove the juror or do an inquiry.”
Bailey had expected Clancy’s defense attorney to aggressively lobby against another trial if a mistrial is declared, making a case to the district attorney’s office along the lines of: “‘Why are you doing this to this poor woman? She’s still clearly obviously suffering. She’s been punished with her paralysis and, worse than that, the loss of her three children.’”
A conviction could mean life in prison for Clancy, while an acquittal might lead to confinement in a mental health facility.
In a similar high-profile trial, the Karen Read case was also recently declared a mistrial in Massachusetts.
Read was charged in the 2022 death of her Boston police officer boyfriend. Jurors in her 2024 trial deadlocked on the fifth day of deliberations, leading to a mistrial.
Prosecutors chose to retry the case, but a different jury last year found Read not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges.
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