Plymouth (United States) (AFP) – Prosecutors said Monday they plan to retry a US mother accused of killing her three children after a jury deadlock led to a mistrial in a case that has gripped the United States. Lindsay Clancy, 36, did not deny at trial strangling Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months, but claimed she was suffering from postpartum psychosis — excusing her from criminal responsibility.
A jury of nine women and three men was unable to reach a unanimous decision, as required in US criminal proceedings, casting doubt on whether prosecutors would seek another trial. “This would be a retrial. As to what that looks like will depend,” prosecutor Jennifer Sprague told a Massachusetts court, without saying what charges Clancy would face.
The retrial would likely proceed if Judge William Sullivan rejects a separate, outstanding defense motion to dismiss the charges against Clancy. Sullivan is expected to decide by the next hearing on November 16, and has earmarked March 2027 for a potential retrial date if it goes ahead.
Kevin Reddington, the lawyer representing Clancy, indicated that he would not oppose a retrial if Sullivan does not grant his motion to dismiss the charges. Clancy’s original trial, which featured more than 80 witnesses and days of distressing testimony, sparked debate in the United States over maternal mental health.
She pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and said she heard a voice ordering her to kill her children. Her lawyers said this was caused by postpartum psychosis, a condition that medical experts say affects about one to two women in every 1,000 births. Prosecutors rejected that argument, saying Clancy had carefully planned the murders and was able to understand the consequences of her actions.
After the killings at the family home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January 2023, Clancy cut her neck and wrists and jumped from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt that has left her paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair.
© 2024 AFP
