Plymouth, Massachusetts - The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts mom accused of killing her three young children, is in deliberation. But there are clues as to how much longer the case will go on.
Judge William Sullivan on Friday afternoon dismissed the jury for the weekend after its second day of deliberations. Since then, many experts have sounded off about the time it may take the jury to reach a unanimous verdict, noting that this is a relatively complex case.
Throughout Clancy's weeks-long trial, the jury has seen roughly 300 exhibits and heard from about 85 witnesses, 10 of whom were called by Clancy's defense team. Lead defense attorney Kevin Reddington has expressed on numerous occasions in and out of court that Clancy is not denying she killed the kids but rather that she should not be held criminally liable, claiming she was experiencing postpartum psychosis.
With that much physical evidence to sort through, along with the testimonies of 85 witnesses, it's no small feat for the jury. Here's what those close to the case think, and a breakdown of what verdicts the jury must agree on.
How long the jury in Lindsay Clancy case will deliberate, according to experts
Numerous legal experts have taken to the television airwaves and TikTok to share their take on the million-dollar question: How long will the jury deliberate?
Legal analyst Jennifer Roman with WBZ-TV thinks the earliest a verdict will come is Monday or Tuesday of next week. Because this isn't just a case of "is she guilty or innocent," there's a lot more for the jury to consider.
Former prosecutor and Cardozo Law School adjunct professor Gary Galperin told CNN he expects a "lengthy" deliberation: "There’s a lot for a conscientious juror to consider and to analyze," Galperin said.
Laura Niemi, in an analysis for CBS News Boston, explained that jurors have an "incredible amount of information to go through" before reaching a unanimous decision.
Clancy's own attorney, Reddington, shared his belief that it's anyone's guess what a jury will do or how long they will take in any given case.
The judge also provided the jury with five possible verdicts, one being not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.
What are possible verdicts, sentences in the Lindsay Clancy case?
When Judge Sullivan was reading the instructions to the jury on Thursday, he laid out five possible verdicts for Clancy:
- Guilty of first-degree murder
- Guilty of second-degree murder
- Guilty of manslaughter
- Not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility
- Not guilty
If found guilty of first-degree murder, Clancy faces a mandatory life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole. This sentence is fixed under Massachusetts Law.
If Clancy is found guilty of second-degree murder, she faces life in prison with the possibility of parole. Under Massachusetts law, the judge sets a minimum time served before they can be eligible for parole, usually between 15 and 25 years.
If found guilty of manslaughter – an option Clancy's attorney Kevin Reddington pushed for – under Massachusetts law, Clancy faces up to 20 years in state prison. However, the judge has sentencing flexibility when it comes to the manslaughter charge. He could sentence her to probation instead of the maximum 20-year prison sentence if the jury finds her guilty of manslaughter.
If the jury finds Clancy not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, then Clancy will not go to prison, but rather be committed to a psychiatric hospital. The length of her stay would depend on her evaluations at the facility following a court-ordered evaluation period.
There is always a chance for a hung jury, which occurs when all 12 jurors cannot reach a unanimous decision. If that were to happen, it's likely a mistrial would be called.
There is no death penalty in Massachusetts, as the state abolished capital punishment in 1984. The maximum sentence Clancy faces is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
What charges does Lindsay Clancy face in murder trial?
A grand jury indicted Clancy in September 2023 on six felony counts for the strangulation deaths of her three young children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan:
- 3 counts of first-degree murder
- 3 counts of strangulation or suffocation
She was initially charged in district court in February 2023, shortly after the deaths occurred in January 2023.
After the judge dismissed them for the weekend last Friday afternoon, the jury will start its third day of deliberation in Clancy's murder case on Monday, August 31.