Clancy defense asks judge to dismiss holdout juror
Lindsay Clancy’s defense team has requested teh dismissal of a juror who is refusing to follow instructions regarding reasonable doubt during her trial for allegedly killing her three young children in Massachusetts. The judge, William Sullivan, has considered this request after speaking individually with jurors and has acknowledged the complexity of dismissing a juror. The defense argues that the juror’s refusal to accept the legal instructions could threaten the fairness of the trial, potentially leading to a mistrial. prosecutors have expressed no opposition to the judge’s inquiries. The jury is currently deadlocked 11-1 after six days of deliberations, with most jurors seeming unable to reach a consensus. Clancy faces charges of murder, with her lawyers seeking an insanity defense, claiming she was in a postpartum psychotic state at the time of the crime. If found guilty, she could face life imprisonment; if acquitted on grounds of insanity, she may be committed to a mental health facility.
The defense attorney for Lindsay Clancy, the woman accused of killing her three young children, has asked the judge to dismiss the lone holdout juror, who he claims “refuses to listen” to the rule on reasonable doubt.
Massachusetts Superior Court Judge William Sullivan sent jurors home on their sixth day of deliberations after speaking with each juror individually. Clancy’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, then addressed the judge and asked for the holdout juror to be ejected.
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Reddington said the foreperson had brought the juror to the judge’s attention, saying he or she “refuses to listen to the law that you’ve given him or her unreasonable doubt.” The lawyer then said the judge’s asking jurors if they can “listen to the law as I instruct you” is not a sufficient question to remove the problem juror.
“It does not allow any foundation for a motion to remove the juror who refuses to accept your instructions on the law on reasonable doubt, and if we come back here in a half an hour with a mistrial because of a juror that has just spurned the instructions of this court, it’s a shame,” Reddington said. “It’s a real shame, and that’s why I object to the court’s ruling.”
The prosecution then told Sullivan it had no issue with the judge’s questions.
Sullivan then said dismissing a juror is a “sensitive undertaking,” adding that he will take in Reddington’s objection.
“I don’t feel it’s appropriate for me to say I agree with one juror or the left,” Sullivan said. “At this point, I’ve asked if they are able to follow my instructions, according they swore earlier that they could. They’ve said at this point that they can.”
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told the Washington Examiner that Reddington’s remarks may suggest he wants to remove the one juror who has sided with the prosecution.
“The reason Reddington went crazy, he thinks he can get a not criminally responsible. He smells blood in the water,” Rahmani said.
Rahmani added that a juror not following the rule on reasonable doubt could also indicate where the jury’s head is, and Reddington recognizes that.
“There’s one juror that’s not following the law on reasonable doubt,” Rahmani said. “Reasonable doubt helps the defense. Reddington goes crazy, tries to remove the juror. The judge says no. He senses a defense verdict, which is why he did what he did.”
Jurors will return Friday morning for their seventh day of deliberations. Based on Thursday’s conversations, it appears jurors are deadlocked 11-1. The jury is comprised of nine women and three men.
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Clancy is accused of strangling her three children in their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in 2023 using exercise resistance bands. Clancy’s lawyers do not deny the murders but are seeking an insanity defense for Clancy, arguing that she was in a postpartum psychotic state when she committed the crime.
Clancy faces up to life in prison if the jury finds her guilty. However, if the jury finds Clancy not guilty on insanity grounds, she would be admitted into a state mental health institution.
Kaelan Deese contributed to this report.
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