LINDSAY CLANCY JURY COULD SPLIT 12 WAYS — WHAT HAPPENS IF JURORS CANNOT AGREE? JUDGE’S “DYNAMITE CHARGE” COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING AS THE MOM WAITS FOR HER FATE, WITH A HUNG JURY THREATENING TO THROW THE HIGH-PROFILE TRIAL INTO A SH0CKING NEW LEGAL TWIST
JURY deliberations in the Lindsay Clancy case have continued into Monday where the mom waits to hear her fate after strangling her three children.
As the trial , could it also divide the 12 deliberating jurors?
Lindsay Clancy is on trial in Massachusetts after she strangled her three children to death in January 2023
Judge William Sullivan could attempt to avoid a mistrial from a hung jury by sending them back to deliberate
after the defense and prosecution gave their closing arguments.
Lindsay, 36, has to three murder charges and in her trial, citing a lack of criminal responsibility due to undiagnosed
Her defense attorney argued she was in psychosis at the time her five-year-old daughter Cora, and sons three-year-old Dawson and eight-month- old Callan and couldn’t appreciate the “wrongfulness” of her actions.
The prosecution argued the former labor and delivery nurse as she sent her then-husband out of on January 24, 2023.
could find Lindsay guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter.
They could acquit her or find her non guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.
Since deliberations began, to the judge: requesting to see Lindsay was prescribed in the months before the killings and in her suicide attempt on January 24, 2023.
As of 2pm on Monday, jurors had been deliberating for 15 hours.
There is a possibility that there could be or a deadlocked jury, which is when the jurors are unable to reach a unanimous or supermajority verdict.
When there is a hung jury, trials often end in a mistrial, meaning the defendant could be tried again in the future.
However, , who already , could try to avoid a mistrial.
Sullivan could order the jurors back to the deliberating room in hopes that they which is known as the Allen charge or the dynamite charge.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington has argued Lindsay was suffering from undiagnosed postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings
Of the 18 jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial, 12 were selected as deliberators and six were selected at random as alternates
“The judge may direct them to deliberate further, usually no more than once or twice,” according to the
When this happens, jurors are urged to continue looking at evidence.
“If a verdict still cannot be delivered, at some point the judge will declare a mistrial due to the hung jury,” the association noted.
Northeastern University law expert Daniel Medwed the Allen charge has several names including “dynamite, shotgun, third-degree or nitroglycerin” because it was seen as instructions that could “blow open a deadlock” by pushing jurors to work out their differences.
If there is a mistrial, Lindsay would not be convicted nor acquitted, and the prosecution could decide to retry the case.
The trial process would start back over if a mistrial is declared, beginning with jury selection.
The jury in Lindsay’s case have five options to consider: they could either find her guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter.
The 36-year-old could also be found not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility or be acquitted.
Cora and Dawson were pronounced dead on January 24, 2023 while Callan, the youngest, died three days later
Patrick Clancy, Lindsay’s then-husband, found their three children in the basement of their home
A in ‘s first trial after jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict of whether she was guilty of killing
Read, who was , was
Attorney Heather Cucolo, a New York Law School professor with a background in criminal law, told that if jurors in a second trial could not produce a verdict, the prosecution may decide not to try Lindsay a third time.
Cucolo speculated it would likely bring civil proceedings to have Lindsay committed to , voluntarily or involuntarily.
“Civil commitment statutes and laws do vary, but there has to be clear and convincing evidence that the individual has a mental illness and is a danger to themselves or others,” she said.
“She’d have a hearing and due process within that context, and that process could begin at any time if state feels it’s warranted.”
Psychologist and attorney Jean Cirillo told The U.S. Sun that regardless of the trial’s outcome.
“She’s going to be hospitalized in a place for the criminally insane in Massachusetts until the doctors say she’s okay and she’s free to go out,” she said.
“In some cases, people wind up staying longer in a psychiatric hospital than they would in jail for the offense they committed.
“So it’s not a get out of jail free card. You might get out of jail, but you’re going into a locked institution.”
Sullivan told the jury on Thursday that the final decision to release or recommit a defendant is up to the court.
If Lindsay is found guilty and sentenced to prison time, she would still receive treatment for her mental health, Cirillo said.
“Hopefully there’d be somebody skilled enough to give it to her. But yes, she would be given the medication,” she told The U.S. Sun.
“The psychiatry might not be that great in the prison.
“They would find something that worked better than no medication.”
Cirillo also speculated there were moments where , including when medical examiners were called to testify about the Clancy children’s autopsies.
“The prosecution won with the medical examiner’s testimony,” she said.
“The worst thing they could let the jury hear is how long it took, how she would have had time to stop, she would have had time to get help.
“The youngest was still alive, although they died later, and that she could have at any point changed her behavior. And she didn’t. And that shows premeditation, even if it’s only for a few minutes.”
If you or someone you know needs help or support for their mental health, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected with a certified crisis counselor.
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