One Insane Graph Explains The Lindsay Clancy Defender Dynamic

The Lindsay Clancy murder trial seems to be an open and shut case. Her attorney freely admits that she did indeed strangle her three children to death. That should be it, right? She’s found guilty after a short trial and sent to prison (although she deserves far worse).

Yet this case has become an internet firestorm. TikTok-addicted women, itching for the chance to be the amateur sleuth who breaks open the case like in their favorite true crime podcasts, have spun all kinds of conspiracies trying to exonerate Clancy.

They’ve come up with a range of bizarre theories that ignore the plain facts of the case, from the classic “her husband did it and gaslit her” to the theory that she’s the victim of a deliberate scheme concocted by a cabal of nefarious doctors. Even the queen of conspiracy-mongering herself, Candace Owens, has come out in defense of Clancy, declaring her “obviously not guilty.”

What’s more, many women have taken to social media to sympathize with Clancy. Videos showing women breaking down because of the hardship of raising young children with the text “Same, Lindsay” or throwing ice into the bathtub to vent pent-up rage have gone viral over the last week. A group of women have even gathered outside the courtroom to show support for Clancy, with some even bringing their children.

This apparent uptick in psychopathic empathy (we’ve also seen it on issues such as illegal immigration, abortion, etc.) points to a very disturbing and seemingly baffling phenomenon in our society. But it’s the natural outcome of the U.S. mental health crisis, especially among young leftist women. In fact, a single graph can explain the entire Lindsay Clancy defender dynamic.

You’re reading that headline right. More than half of all leftist white women younger than 30 have been told at some point by a medical provider that they have a mental health issue, according to a Pew American Trends Panel conducted in 2020.

It’s not much better for those older than 30, either. Nearly 40 percent of illiberal white women between 30 and 49 have been told the same thing, while more than a quarter of leftist white women between 50 and 64 have. Now, compare that to 27 percent of conservative white women and 28 percent of “moderate” white women younger than 30 who have been told they have a mental health issue.

Keep in mind, that research was conducted in March 2020, before the Covid lockdwns melted so many people’s brains and exacerbated Americans’ mental health issues. We can only speculate how how those percentages are now, six years later. In fact, the support for Clancy may provide a suitable proxy.

Remember that young women are by far the farthest-left group in the country, and the picture begins to become clearer. A whole cohort of women in our society are afflicted by mental health issues at a much higher rate than the rest of the population. They’ve become twisted up in tribalistic leftist politics that absolve them of any accountability and convinces them their neuroses are, in fact, virtues. Their toxic empathy causes them to defend a whole host of actually evil causes, including the case of a mother who strangled her children.

One argument by Clancy’s defenders — it’s also her legal defense — is that she was over-medicated to the point of negligence by her doctors, which caused a psychosis that led to her killing her children. Despite what Clancy’s defenders say, this does not free her from culpability, but there is a kernel of truth to this point.

In tandem with the rise of mental issues, the prescription of antidepressants has become a plague unto itself in America. One study found the nearly 28 percent of women had an antidepressant prescription, compared to 13.5 percent of men. The American Psychological Association reported that antidepressant usage among young women increased 63.5 percent from March 2020 to December 2022. Antidepressant use for young men did not increase or decrease between the two time periods.

The Clancy murder trial represents just one outlet for the growing mental crisis, especially among young women, in our country. Perhaps more disturbing than the phenomenon itself or its growing political and cultural power is the lack of a ready and obvious solution. Without one, we can expect to see more cases like Clancy’s and more deranged responses to those cases.

Hayden Daniel is a staff editor at The Federalist. He previously worked as an editor at The Daily Wire and as deputy editor/opinion editor at The Daily Caller. He received his B.A. in European History from Washington and Lee University with minors in Philosophy and Classics. Follow him on Twitter at @HaydenWDaniel