Clancy's Lawyer Seeks to Dismiss Case After Mistrial

Lindsay Clancy's attorney asked a Massachusetts judge Thursday to acquit her of murder, arguing prosecutors failed to prove she was criminally responsible for killing her three children.

• 11 of 12 jurors were prepared to find Clancy not criminally responsible before the deadlock.
• 6 forensic experts — 3 per side — agreed Clancy had serious mental illness on January 24, 2023.
• Clancy, 36, strangled Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and 8-month-old Callan on January 24, 2023, in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
• A Rule 25 acquittal for insufficient evidence would bar any retrial, Reddington argued.

Why it matters: The motion targets a specific legal threshold. Under Massachusetts law, prosecutors must prove either that Clancy had no mental illness or that she could appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions despite having one.

• Reddington argued prosecution evidence of routine tasks — driving, phone calls, planning a birthday party — did not meet that standard.
• Clancy remains paralyzed from the waist down and is held at a psychiatric hospital pending case resolution.

How 0 sources split on this story

Where they split: The core dispute is whether Clancy's ability to perform everyday tasks before the killings constitutes proof she understood her actions were wrong.

What’s next: Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz has not responded to requests for comment on a retrial.

• Sullivan is set to take up the motion September 29; he denied identical requests twice during trial.
• Will prosecutors seek a second trial, and on what timeline?
• How will Judge Sullivan weigh the holdout juror's conduct against double-jeopardy arguments Reddington raised?