Newz(AP) — The judge in Lindsay Clancy’s trial has given her defense attorney one hour to appeal after the judge initially said he was going to declare a mistrial. This decision came after jurors reported for the third time that they couldn’t reach a unanimous decision on whether the Massachusetts mother is criminally responsible for killing her three children in 2023.Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, doesn’t deny strangling her children in the basement of their home in 2023. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington blamed postpartum psychosis.
Prosecutors said she knew what she was doing.Postpartum psychosis is estimated to afflict 1 to 2 per 1,000 women after delivery. Experts at the Cleveland Clinic describe it as a mental health emergency affecting someone’s sense of reality. Though most people with postpartum psychosis don’t harm their children, mothers with severe cases may try to do so.Here’s the latest:Legal expert sees ‘structural defect’ in the trialCriminal defense attorney Joseph Krowski, who has been observing the trial, commented about Friday’s developments outside the court in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
He said the defense wants a judge on the state’s highest court to consider an emergency stay because Reddington believes there “is a structural defect to this trial by the failure to remove the juror or do an inquiry.”Here’s what the jury’s note readJudge Sullivan read the jury foreperson’s note aloud in open court: “It is with a heavy heart that we report we are unable to come to a unanimous decision and will not be able to.”Court is once again in recess, mistrial pending, as the defense appealsSullivan and Reddington went back and forth after the judge signaled that he would declare a mistrial and summon the jury to break the news.Then the judge suddenly gave Clancy’s lawyer time to seek an appeal to stop his mistrial order.“What I’m asking for is time to file a single-justice appeal for this travesty,” said Reddington, who was upset over Sullivan’s refusal to remove a juror.“I’ll hold off for an hour,” the judge said.The clock began around 11:30 a.m.There was an audible gasp when the judge said he would declare a mistrialClancy’s parents, Paula and Mike Musgrove, and her sister, Allison Ozga, showed no reaction but stared straight ahead. Clancy’s expression wasn’t visible to the gallery.The defense then raised object… (AP) — The deadlocked jury in the Lindsay Clancy trial started a seventh day of deliberations Friday, a day after the foreperson informed the judge that a single juror wasn't following the court’s instructions about reasonable doubt.The extraordinary disclosure made Thursday in the form of a note delivered to the judge offered the clearest glimpse yet of what may be keeping jurors from reaching a verdict on whether Clancy is criminally responsible for killing her three children.
If jurors ultimately cannot agree on a verdict, the judge could declare a mistrial.Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, doesn’t deny strangling her children in the basement of their home in 2023. It is unclear what it was.Now they’ve returned to their tables and the judge has returned to the bench.There's no more roomWith nearly 100 people packed inside, a court officer told the public outside “there is no more room” and closed the courtroom doors.People are being called back into courtFirst the media and now members of the public are re-entering the courtroom.The prosecutors are at their table. Reddington is sitting next to Clancy.
Clancy’s parents and her sister are two rows back.With the court in recess as the jury deliberates, the scene outside is calmThere’s a line for media seats that’s 15 people deep, with journalists either standing or sitting on the floor behind an orange cone after court security moved them back from the door.The benches outside the courtroom are filled with about 20 members of the public, some dressed in pink to show their support for Clancy. Many are waiting to get a seat in the courtroom, which has been filled to capacity.Judge, defense lawyer clashed over his deliveryReddington urged Sullivan to “forcefully” explain the jury instruction about…
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