Judge William Sullivan used a special instruction in the Lindsay Clancy trial — the d3:adlock still has no light at the end of the tunnel
THE jury in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial has been sent home after failing to come to a unanimous decision for a second time after five days of deliberations.
Jurors said on Wednesday afternoon they still could not decide Clancy’s fate after 28 hours of deliberating, prompting Judge William Sullivan to make a last resort attempt at getting a verdict.
Lindsay Clancy is on trial after she strangled her three children to death in January 2023Credit: via REUTERS
Judge William Sullivan used what is known as the dynamite charge to send jurors back to deliberate on Wednesday after they failed to reach a unanimous decision two days in a rowCredit: Reuters
After continuing talks on Wednesday to weigh the five options in Clancy’s case, the nine women and three men sent a note to the judge saying they still had not come to a verdict.
Sullivan read the so-called “Tuey-Rodriguez” or the “dynamite charge,” that encourages them to continue deliberations to reach a unanimous decision.
The 12 jurors had previously said they were deadlocked on Tuesday, but they were sent back to deliberate for several more hours before they asked to be sent home.
Clancy remained transfixed on the jury with her eyebrows furrowed as Sullivan spoke to jurors on Wednesday afternoon.
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The U.S. Sun was in the courtroom as the dynamite charge was read out, jurors appeared tired but did not have any reaction to it being read out.
One juror could be seen wiping their eyes repeatedly while a majority of them seemed wiped out.
As the courtroom was being cleared, defense attorney Kevin Reddington’s son went over to Clancy and stood directly in front of her and they appeared to be chatting as he was reassuring her.
Sullivan gave the jurors another round of instructions, reading, “Our constitution and laws provide that in a criminal case the principal
way for deciding questions of fact is by the verdict of a jury …
“The verdict to which a juror agrees must of course be his or her
own verdict, the result of their own convictions, and not merely an
acquiescence in the conclusion of the other jurors …
“There is no reason to suppose that the case will ever be submitted to 12 persons more intelligent, more impartial or more competent to decide it or that more or clear evidence will be produced.
“And with this in mind, it’s your duty to decide the case if you can do it conscientiously.”
Jurors were ordered back to the deliberation room after the order was read and then were dismissed shortly after 4pm on Wednesday.
They will return on Thursday morning at 9am for a sixth day of deliberating.
Sullivan reminded jurors that in Clancy’s case, the burden of proof is on the prosecution, and that if they are left in “doubt of any element of the crime, the defendant is entitled to the benefit of the doubt and must be acquitted.”
A judge is usually not allowed to ask a jury to go back and deliberate more than twice, according to the Fully Informed Jury Association.
“If a verdict still cannot be delivered, at some point the judge will declare a mistrial due to the hung jury,” the jury association said.
Far right activists seen demonstrating outside the Plymouth courthouse on September 2 where Clancy is on trialCredit: AFP
Lindsay has admitted to strangling her three kids, Cora, left, Callan, middle, and Dawson, rightCredit: Instagram/heardwithlove
Jurors do not have a deadline for reaching a verdict and can take all the time they need to review exhibits, which there are 300 of in Clancy’s trial.
Northeastern University law expert Daniel Medwed said the charge is a “kind of a last-ditch effort to break a hung jury.”
While the move is considered controversial and is outlawed in many states “because of their possibly coercive effect,” it has been used in many high-profile cases including in Karen Read’s trial that also took place in Massachusetts.
Body language expert and jury consultant Susan Constantine told LA Magazine reporter Lauren Conlin that she believes jurors may be in different “camps” based on their views of the case.
She speculated some jurors may be driven by emotion after listening to five weeks of grueling testimony, while others may be potentially persuaded by a majority.
If the jury is split closer to 50/50, it would make reaching a unanimous decision more difficult, Constantine added.
If jurors decide Clancy is guilty, they could convict her of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter.
Otherwise, they could acquit her or find her not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.
Clancy’s defense attorney Kevin Reddington argued she was suffering from undiagnosed postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings and didn’t know right from wrongCredit: AFP
Plymouth County ADAs Jennifer Sprague and Shanan Buckingham argued Clancy acted deliberately when killing her childrenCredit: Reuters
If there is a mistrial, Clancy would not be acquitted or convicted, and instead could be tried again in the future.
Reddington argued she lacked criminal responsibility for the 2023 killings of her three children because she was suffering from undiagnosed postpartum psychosis.
The prosecution argued Clancy deliberately killed her children because she wanted to end her life and take them with her.
The Commonwealth also alleged the 36-year-old showed evidence of planning by sending her then-husband Patrick Clancy out of the house to run errands.
Since deliberations began on Thursday, the jurors have only asked the judge one question.
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They asked to see the knife Clancy used to harm herself in her suicide attempt after strangling her kids on January 24, 2023 and the pills she was prescribed in the months before the killings.
SOURCE: THE SUN
https://www.the-sun.com/news/16939682/lindsay-clancy-jury-deadlocked-dynamite-charge-deliberations/
