Judge sets two-week deadline for prosecutors in Lindsay Clancy retrial decision
Judge William Sullivan has ordered Massachusetts prosecutors to clarify their next steps before a follow-up hearing scheduled for mid-November.
By Malik Salazar ·
Massachusetts prosecutors must decide within two weeks whether to retry Lindsay Clancy for the deaths of her three children. Judge William Sullivan set a deadline during a hearing in Boston on Tuesday, asking the Commonwealth to clarify its path forward after a September mistrial.
Sullivan pressed Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague on whether the state had made a final decision. Sprague told the judge that the outcome will depend on the court's ruling on pending motions. She stated, "We're not at that point yet." Prosecutors retain the option to pursue first-degree murder charges or lesser counts in a new trial.
Clancy's defense team, led by attorney Kevin Reddington, argued that the judge did not need to declare a mistrial in the first place. Reddington is seeking a more detailed review of one juror who dissented from the majority verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. He claims the holdout juror provided inaccurate information on a form.
"I have evidence that this man was not honest on his form," Reddington told the court. He argued that Sullivan needs to understand the mindset of the dissenting juror to determine if the initial verdict was valid. The defense also requested that the case be dismissed entirely, suggesting the judge should have probed the holdout juror more closely or replaced him during the original trial.
Prosecutors countered that jurors were sufficiently questioned and instructed throughout the first trial. Reddington noted that the intense focus on the juror dispute has shifted public attention away from the underlying issue of maternal mental health care. He described that aspect of the case as a positive development.
Clancy had sought mental health treatment for several months before the deaths of her children, who were ages five, three, and eight months. Ashlyn Rizzo, a Boston resident who attended nearly every day of the first trial, said she will continue to advocate for better treatment options. She stated, "Now the world's paying attention, so I think that's the time where those of us that care about this need to show up and be here for it."
Sullivan is currently weighing the arguments from both sides. He has scheduled the next hearing for two weeks from Tuesday. Dozens of spectators lined the courthouse steps during the Tuesday session.
