Will Lindsay Clancy trial end in a mistrial? Here’s what happens if jurors do not agree on murder charge

PLYMOUTH, Mass. – Lindsay Clancy’s captivating triple murder case has a “very high probability” of ending with jurors hopelessly deadlocked forcing the judge to declare a mistrial, experts predict.
The jurors who wrapped up a fourth day of deliberations Tuesday without yet reaching a verdict – are tasked with deciding whether they accept the 36-year-old Duxbury mom’s defense that she was legally insane from severe postpartum psychosis when she took her kids’ lives and tried to take her own.

Prosecutors argued at trial that she carefully planned the slayings of Cora, 5, Dawson, 3 and 8-month-old Callan and made up hearing a hallucinatory voice to avoid culpability, insisting she should be convicted of first-degree murder and locked up for life without parole.
The panel – composed of nine women and three men – sent out a note after nearly 18 hours of deliberations Tuesday morning telling Judge William Sullivan they were at an impasse. Sullivan, however, told them to keep at it.
“I know there were over 80 witnesses, there were over 300 exhibits, but because of that I’m going to ask you to go back out … and continue your deliberation at this time,” Sullivan told jurors before sending them back.
Clancy’s parents, Mike and Paula Musgrove, both appeared anxious at the news of a jury impasse.

Just hours later, the jury asked to leave early for the second day in a row – after 23 hours of deliberations and still no verdict. They are set to resume deliberations at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Veteran Boston criminal defense attorney Peter Elikann told The Post the consensus among him and other experts is “there was always going to be a very high probability that there would be a deadlock jury in this case.”
Elikann explained the judge still has at his disposal a formal instruction under Massachusetts law that he could give to the jury if they send another note saying they still can’t reach an agreement, called a “Tuey-Rodriguez” charge.
He said the instruction is “known colloquially as the dynamite charge … And it really pushes the jury and urges them to try to work out a unanimous decision. It’s almost equivalent to a pep talk by the judge encouraging them to go back and try harder.”
However, there is also a softer instruction the judge could opt to give jurors, Boston defense lawyer Brad Bailey told The Post.
“It’s an American Bar Association instruction that isn’t as strong as Tuey that is sometimes given when the judge doesn’t believe the jury has reached a true deadlock,” Bailey said.
After that, if the panelists tell the judge a third time they remain deadlocked, Sullivan could declare a mistrial.

“It depends on who the judge is, but normally once Tuey has been given, if they come back again and say they are still deadlocked, the judge is constrained to grant them a mistrial,” Bailey said.
But both lawyers noted that Sullivan could tell jurors a third time to keep at it.
On his way into court Tuesday morning, Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, told reporters he would “absolutely” stick with the killer mom’s case if it ended with a hung jury and was retried.
Reddington said he would “try it again,” adding that Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz “would never drop it. That’s for sure.”
If Cruz’s office didn’t bring the case again, it would open the door for Clancy to go free.
Reddington said on his way out of court that Clancy, who is paralyzed after her suicide attempt, wouldn’t be able to emotionally handle a second trial.
He also said he didn’t know why Cruz wouldn’t reduce the charges from first-degree to second-degree murder which would allow Clancy to opt for a judge to decide her case rather than a jury, if the current case ends in a deadlock.
“You should ask Mr. Cruz why he did not reduce the charges to second degree so the matter could be waived by a jury and tried by a judge instead of a jury,” Reddington told reporters. “You should ask Mr. Cruz why we are trying on triple homicide first degree, not me.”
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
Sources: NY Post