A bombshell note from the jury room has just turned the Lindsay Clancy trial upside down, after a forewoman revealed that one juror “refuses to listen to the law” on reasonable doubt.
The admission came Thursday following 36 tense hours of deliberation, igniting a furious reaction from Clancy’s defense attorney Kevin Reddington, who demanded the holdout juror be immediately removed and replaced with an alternate.
Reddington argued in court that the situation was a “real shame” and warned the judge that if a mistrial resulted from a juror who “spurned the instructions of this court,” it would be unacceptable. He called for further inquiry into the matter.
But prosecutor Jennifer Sprague pushed back, insisting there is no way to determine what is happening inside deliberations, and that the judge’s approach of asking each juror individually if they could follow the law was appropriate.
Judge William Sullivan ultimately denied Reddington’s motion to remove the juror, stating he could not side with one side or the other of the deliberations. He said he does not feel it is proper to agree with one juror over the other eleven.
Outside court, Reddington said the issue is far from over, confirming there will be an inquiry by the judge on Friday at 9 a.m. He expects the debate to take place in open court.
Clancy, appearing in a wheelchair due to a spinal injury from her suicide attempt, looked visibly distressed throughout the arguments, furrowing her brows and closing her eyes. It was the most concerned she has appeared during the entire deliberation process.
The jury has now told the judge twice that they are deadlocked, and the panel of three men and nine women has been deliberating for nearly a full week.
Clancy admits to strangling her three children—Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and eight-month-old Callan—in their Duxbury home on January 24, 2023. Her defense claims she was suffering severe postpartum psychosis and heard a voice telling her to carry out the killings.
Prosecutors argue the act was carefully planned, alleging Clancy wanted to die and take her children with her.
If the jury cannot reach a unanimous decision, the judge could be forced to declare a mistrial. Reddington says he expects the district attorney to pursue a second trial, and he claims he would be ready to go “next week.”
As the courtroom 𝒹𝓇𝒶𝓂𝒶 continues to unfold, one big question remains: will this single holdout ultimately force a mistrial, or can the jury finally reach a verdict after seven days of intense deliberation?
