Lindsay Clancy trial deliberations stretch into third day, defense attorney ‘nervous’ awaiting verdict
NBC News · LC · trust 41/100
When asked how he was feeling ahead of court, Reddington said he was feeling “typical, nervous.” He also criticized the media for picking apart Clancy’s case and the symptoms she said she was facing at the time of the killings.
“This weekend has been horrific with the coverage,” Reddington said. “And by that I mean (Sean) Hannity, with his men, discussing every little inch of Lindsay’s symptoms and criticizing. Nancy Grace — to coin a phrase, the queen of mean — who misrepresents facts.”
“And these things hurt. These things hurt people. If you’re going to be a journalist, do it right,” he said.
Monday marks the third day of deliberations for the jury, which must determine whether Clancy is criminally responsible for the killings of her three children Jan. 24, 2023.
Reddington and prosecutors representing the commonwealth of Massachusetts offered their closing arguments Thursday morning, paving the way for the start of deliberations that afternoon.
Friday brought a full day of deliberations that yielded no verdict, but did bring one question. Jurors asked the judge to review pill bottles and a knife that were entered into evidence, Reddington said last week.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington in court last week. Greg Derr / Pool via The Patriot Ledger Reddington on Friday said Clancy was “nervous. Sad. Scared.” He did not comment on her state Monday. She was seen in court wearing a dark green, long-sleeved blouse. Her family members were sitting in court behind her as they await the verdict.
Clancy, 36, is accused of strangling her three young children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months — more than three years ago in the basement of her Duxbury, Massachusetts, home while her then-husband was out running errands.
When he returned, he found Clancy on the frozen ground outside their home underneath a second-story window after a suicide attempt that left her paralyzed from the waist down.
Her attorneys have argued she was in a state of psychosis and was compelled to act on auditory hallucinations at the time of the killings. The hallucinations, they have said, were a symptom of postpartum psychosis — a severe but rare mental illness that can plague new mothers and cause hallucinations.
But the prosecution has said that Clancy was not in psychosis, and that she was aware of her actions at the time of the killings. They have argued that she planned the murders ahead of time and acted with intention, which indicates she was not psychotic at the time.
The prosecution has pushed for a first-degree murder conviction. If she is convicted of first-degree murder, she faces life in prison.
The jury — comprised of nine women and three men — also has the option to convict Clancy of lesser charges, including second-degree murder and manslaughter.
The jurors can also absolve Clancy of the crime, or can deem her not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility — meaning that they believe she did kill the children, but couldn’t control her actions due to being in psychosis.
Judge William Sullivan has said that if Clancy is found not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, the district attorney or another authority will likely petition the court to commit her to a mental health facility. It is unclear what her sentencing will look like if she is convicted of a lesser charge.
The weekslong murder trial is now in its final stages, after jurors and onlookers heard from more than 80 witnesses.
When asked Monday is he had any feeling on what was going to happen as he was heading into court, Reddington responded, “Do you think you have any idea who’s going to win the World Series? I have no idea.”
Share Add to Google Rebecca Cohen Rebecca Cohen is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
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