Lindsay Clancy Case: Prosecutors Weigh Retrial or Plea Deal in Deaths of Three Children

Prosecutors seeking a second trial for Lindsay Clancy may confront the same challenge that led to the first trial ending without a verdict: persuading all 12 Massachusetts jurors to unanimously reject her insanity defense.

Jonathan Turley, a Fox News contributor and professor at The George Washington University Law School, said prosecutors must balance the risk of another deadlocked jury against the political and emotional consequences of dropping the case.

“The question is whether they could ever get a jury, particularly in Massachusetts, that would unanimously vote against this defendant,” Turley told News Outlet. “For prosecutors, they have to weigh that, but they may find the alternative equally unappealing — to simply walk away and say, ‘There are three dead children here, but we just don’t think we could ever win this case.’”

Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, said he believes the district attorney’s office should explore a plea deal. However, he acknowledged that an agreement appears unlikely given the nature of the crime and the defense’s position after jurors split 11-1, with only one juror supporting a murder conviction in the deaths of Clancy’s three young children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months.

WATCH: Lindsay Clancy plea deal appears unlikely, legal analyst says

“The reason I don’t think there’s any deal to be made here is Reddington has come out during his media tour and said that he’s not going to accept any deal that results in jail time,” he told News Outlet. “Even if you’re talking about first-degree or second-degree murder, in Massachusetts, first-degree, of course, has no possibility of parole. Second-degree has the possibility of a parole. That’s not something that Reddington and the defense are going to accept.”

The defense does not dispute that Clancy, a 36-year-old former delivery room nurse, strangled her three children with exercise bands in January 2023 before attempting to take her own life.

She survived a fall from a second-story window but is now paralyzed.

Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, has argued that mental illness or a mental defect made her not criminally responsible for the deaths.

In recent interviews, however, Reddington has said he is open to discussing a deal. He told Fox News’ Bryan Llenas last week that if prosecutors reduced the top charge to second-degree murder, he would waive a jury trial and ask a judge to hear the case, hoping Clancy would receive probation.

“I would like to see [Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz] reduce it to a second-degree so we could possibly waive a jury and try the case before a judge,” he said. “I would see Tim determine that the case should not go forward and dismiss it, or in the alternative fashion, something where Lindsay gets the mental, physical help that she needs rather than criminal prosecution — because I would not ever, ever in a million years have that woman go to Framingham State Prison.”

As prosecutors consider whether to retry the case, Judge William Sullivan is shielding the identities of jurors from the mistrial. He ordered their names impounded indefinitely and their confidential questionnaires sealed for at least the next 10 days.

He cited threats and concerns for their safety.

Clancy, who is charged with murder in the strangling deaths of her three children, is due back in court on Sept. 29.