The jury in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial said it was still deadlocked Tuesday, Sept. 1, after three days of deliberation.
“After many hours of deliberation, we are unable to come to a unanimous decision,” the jurors wrote in a note. The judge overseeing the case, William Sullivan, told the nine women and three men to continue with their deliberations, which entered a fourth day. “I know that this was a long trial,” Sullivan said (per NBC News). “I know there were over 80 witnesses, over 300 exhibits. But because of that, I’m going to ask you to go back out, keeping in mind all the instructions that I gave you. To go out and to continue your deliberations at this time.”
Prosecutors have claimed that Clancy was a hyper-controlling mother who “meticulously” planned the murders of Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, after growing unhappy with her life. Clancy’s defence team, meanwhile, has claimed that Clancy suffered a total postpartum psychotic break and heard a commanding male voice in her head when she strangled her children with exercise bands. Clancy then tried to use a kitchen knife to slash her own throat and wrists, before jumping out a second-story window of her home. (The fall left Clancy paralysed.)
As of Tuesday morning, the jury had spent about 17 hours deliberating the case. When the jury left for the day on Monday, Aug. 31, Judge William F. Sullivan told them, “Just stay the course.”
As CNN notes, there are five verdict permutations the jury could reach. A guilty verdict for first-degree murder would mean the jury found Clancy killed her children with “deliberate premeditation” or “extreme atrocity or cruelty”; a guilty verdict for second-degree murder wouldn’t carry either of those conditions. Both convictions carry the possibility of life in prison, though second-degree murder carries the possibility of parole while first-degree murder does not.
Clancy could also be convicted of manslaughter, meaning she intentionally acted with “wanton or reckless” conduct that caused her kids’ deaths. That conviction carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Lastly, there are two possible not guilty verdicts: a clean one that indicates the prosecution did not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt; or not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility, which could lead to Clancy being committed to a mental health facility.
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Shortly after Clancy’s trial began at the end of July, the case became a social media sensation, with many mothers saying that saw some echoes of their own struggles with postpartum depression in some of Clancy’s private writings and web searches on topics like exhaustion and guilt related to breastfeeding, sleep-training, and sharing attention among her three kids. Speaking with reporters on Monday, Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, acknowledged her client was nervous as she awaited the verdict, but remained encouraged by the support she’d received.
“She knows that there are people out there that have not judged her and know that she is a wonderful, wonderful person,” Reddington said (via NBC News).
“I challenge Nancy Grace to show us where Lindsay Clancy ever said, ever googled ‘How to kill’ — words that came out of her mouth,” Reddington said. “And these things hurt, these things hurt people. If you’re going to be a journalist, do it right.”
From Rolling Stone US
