Lindsay Clancy supporters vow to return in 'bigger numbers' after mistrial
A Massachusetts judge declared a mistrial Friday in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy after jurors said they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict, bringing the nearly six-week trial to an end without a resolution.
Clancy had pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of her three young children, whom prosecutors say she strangled in the family's home on Jan. 24, 2023, before attempting to take her own life.
Clancy's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, claimed she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings. Prosecutors Jennifer Sprague and Shanan Buckingham argue that Clancy is criminally responsible for her children's deaths.
The mistrial leaves open the possibility that Clancy could face a second trial, something for which her supporters, who gathered at Plymouth County Superior Court on Friday, said they were prepared.
"I will be back for a second trial," one supporter named Shannon, who was among the nearly three dozen Clancy supporters gathered at the courthouse, told ABC News just before the mistrial was formally declared. "And we'll come back in bigger numbers."
The jury repeatedly told Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan over seven days of deliberation that it could not reach a unanimous decision. In a note Friday, jurors said it was "with a heavy heart" that they remained unable to agree.
The defense ultimately filed an emergency request on Friday afternoon, asking the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to intervene and "preserve the integrity of the court system" after the jury foreperson identified a holdout juror the defense claimed was biased and not following the court's instructions.
The high court denied the defense's emergency request, leading Sullivan to declare a mistrial.
Nearly three dozen Clancy supporters gathered outside the third floor courtroom Friday, while others waited outside. Some expressed disappointment even before the mistrial was formally declared.
"It's not good," one supporter said when asked about the possibility of a mistrial.
Clancy has drawn a notable contingent of support throughout the trial, particularly from women and mothers. Some have rallied around her on social media, while others have traveled to the courthouse in person, many saying the case has raised larger questions about maternal mental health and the care available to women after childbirth.
"It's taken control of me and I can't stop thinking about it," Shannon told ABC News, adding that women's mental health issues "need to be addressed."
Another supporter, Nancy, said she traveled from Connecticut to follow the case, explaining that it resonated with her because her daughter has schizophrenia.
"We need more help," Nancy told ABC News. "We need change."
The debate over Clancy's mental state at the time she killed her three children in January 2023 was central to the trial, with jurors tasked with deciding whether she should be held criminally responsible for the deaths of her children.
The case has also renewed national discussion about postpartum mental illness and, in particular, postpartum psychosis, a rare and severe condition that can cause delusions, hallucinations and significant changes in a person's perception of reality, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Clancy's defense attorney suggested this week that the attention surrounding the trial could have a lasting impact on that conversation.
Asked whether the trial had turned a spotlight on maternal mental health, Reddington said in a press conference Friday, "It might be the spark that lights the fire."
Dr. Karishma Reddy, a plastic surgeon in Richmond, Virginia, who has spoken publicly about the Clancy case on social media, said supporting better maternal mental health care does not mean losing sight of the children at the center of the case.
"The deaths of these three children are an unimaginable tragedy, and advocating for better maternal mental health care does not in any way diminish the horror of what happened to them," Reddy told ABC News.
Reddy, whose practice primarily serves women, said she has been troubled by how the conversation surrounding the case has focused on Clancy herself rather than also examining how the health care system identifies and treats mothers who may be deteriorating after childbirth.
"I am incredibly disappointed that this trial ended in a mistrial, particularly after so many family members, physicians and witnesses endured weeks of very painful testimony," Reddy said.
She added that she hopes the case "forces us to recognize that women deserve earlier, more frequent and more meaningful postpartum care … not simply a six-week checkup and the expectation that new moms will know when they are in danger."
Postpartum depression, a form of depression that occurs after having a baby, affects as many as 1 in 8 women who give birth, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Postpartum psychosis is far less common, affecting roughly 1 to 3 mothers per 1,000 births, according to ACOG.
For some maternal mental health advocates, the attention surrounding Clancy's case has underscored concerns they say extend far beyond one family or one courtroom.
"It is an absolute tragedy what has happened to the Clancy family," Adrienne Griffen, executive director of the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, said in an interview with ABC News' Elizabeth Schulze that aired prior to the mistrial declaration.
Griffen said she founded the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for more funding and resources for expectant mothers and new moms, after experiencing her own mental health struggles following the birth of her second child.
"I still have this pit in my stomach when I think about how exhausted and overwhelmed and hopeless I was," Griffen said reflecting on her own past experience. "During that dark time, I decided I needed to do something about this so other women wouldn't suffer."
Watch a special edition of "20/20," "The Trial of Lindsay Clancy," airing Friday, Sept. 4, at 9/8c on ABC, streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
