Legal Experts Warn Lindsay Clancy’s Murder Trial Could End in ‘Disaster’ Mistrial

As the country waits with bated breath to find out the verdict in Lindsay Clancy’s trial, legal experts warn that the outcome could be far messier than a simple yes or no.

Lindsay, 36, has acknowledged killing her three kids, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, whom she shared with her then-husband Patrick Clancy. The question before the jury is whether she can be held criminally responsible, as her team insists she suffered from postpartum psychosis during the murders.

After six and a half weeks of intense testimony, the trial of the Duxbury mom is headed toward deliberations, and according to a new report, legal experts are shedding light on the possible verdicts in the high-profile case.

The Daily Mail reported on August 27 that several attorneys and former prosecutors say a mistrial is a very real possibility.

Criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Mark Bederow said, “There’s no way the Plymouth DA is going to reverse course,” he told the outlet. “They’re so dug in they almost have no choice, politically, but to dig in deeper.”

He added, “Can you imagine a case like this being retried? It would be a horrible thing.”

Retired FBI supervisory special agent James Gagliano shares similar concerns about a hung jury, though he believes the prosecution’s closing argument may sway some jurors toward a lesser charge.

Bederow was blunt about the state’s strategy, calling it “clunky, choppy, disjointed,” and criticizing prosecutors for treating Lindsay’s insanity defense as outdated.

He pointed to a question posed to Lindsay’s former mother-in-law about her Catholic faith as especially damaging. “That’s a dog whistle for the jury,” he told Daily Mail. “I can’t fathom that was an accident.”

A separate religion-related comment from a state witness this week prompted the defense to request a mistrial, though Judge William Sullivan denied the motion, as Globe previously reported.

After five weeks of testimony, the defense and prosecution rested their cases, with closing arguments centered largely on Lindsay’s postpartum mental health and whether she understood her actions were wrong.

Her attorneys argue that severe postpartum mental illness, overmedication and inadequate medical care left her unable to understand or control her actions.

Prosecutors maintain that Lindsay knew right from wrong when she killed the children.

Jurors began deliberating Thursday, August 27, after hearing closing arguments from both sides.

Speaking to reporters outside Plymouth County Superior Court that same day, defense attorney Kevin Reddington said Lindsay was “scared” and “nervous.”

Lindsay’s ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, has since remarried. He also forgave Lindsay in a statement shared via the family’s GoFundMe just a few days after the murders.

If jurors convict her of murder, Lindsay faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. But if they find she wasn’t criminally responsible for her children’s deaths, she’ll be committed to a Massachusetts state psychiatric hospital. She’s been receiving treatment since her arrest after the murders at the same facility.

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available 24 hours a day through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.