Lindsay Clancy Jury Deadlocked Again as Judge Gives ‘Dynamite Charge’

Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial told the judge for a second straight day Wednesday that they could not reach a unanimous verdict, prompting a rare jury instruction and moving the case closer to a possible mistrial.

The 12-member panel ended its fifth day of deliberations without a verdict after Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan delivered what Massachusetts calls a Tuey-Rodriguez charge, sometimes nicknamed a “dynamite charge.” Jurors are expected to return Thursday for a sixth day of deliberations.

The instruction represents one of the final steps a Massachusetts judge can take when jurors repeatedly say they cannot agree. It asks them to reconsider the views of other members of the panel and make another effort to reach a verdict, while making clear that no one should abandon an honestly held belief simply to end deliberations.

Other states and federal courts use similar instructions, often called Allen charges. The “dynamite” nickname comes from their use as an effort to break a jury impasse.

Sullivan had stopped short of giving the instruction Tuesday when the jury first reported that it could not reach a unanimous decision. Instead, he acknowledged the length of the trial, which included more than 80 witnesses and 300 exhibits, and told jurors to continue deliberating.

Under Massachusetts law, once jurors have received the Tuey-Rodriguez charge and resumed deliberations, a judge cannot simply keep sending them back if they again report that they are deadlocked. If the impasse continues, Sullivan could declare a mistrial after finding that further deliberations are unlikely to produce a verdict, although jurors may consent to continue.

There is no public indication of what is dividing the jury. The panel has not disclosed its vote or whether the disagreement concerns one or more charges, Clancy’s criminal responsibility, or the degree of any homicide offense.

Clancy, 36, faces three counts of first-degree murder in the January 2023 deaths of her children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan, inside the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home.

Clancy does not dispute that she strangled the children with exercise bands. She later cut herself and jumped from a second-story window in an attempt to take her own life, leaving her paralyzed.

The trial has instead centered on whether she was legally responsible for her actions at the time of the killings.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington has argued that Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis and should be found not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility. The defense maintains that her mental illness left her unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions.

Prosecutors have argued that Clancy understood what she was doing and deliberately killed the children. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague pointed during closing arguments to evidence that Clancy sent her then-husband, Patrick Clancy, out to pick up medication and food before the killings and had checked how long the trip would take.

Once a defendant raises lack of criminal responsibility in Massachusetts, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was criminally responsible. That puts Clancy’s mental state at the center of the jury’s decision.

Jurors are considering several possible outcomes. They could convict Clancy of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter, or find her not guilty because she lacked criminal responsibility.

A first-degree murder conviction would carry a sentence of life in prison without parole. If Clancy is found not guilty because of a lack of criminal responsibility, she could be committed to a state psychiatric hospital for evaluation and potentially remain confined if a court determines that she poses a danger.

Criminal verdicts must be unanimous. If the jurors remain unable to agree and Sullivan declares a mistrial, the trial would end without a verdict on the unresolved charges.

The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office would then decide whether to try Clancy again and how to proceed with the case. Prosecutors could seek another trial, pursue a different resolution or decline to retry her.

Prosecutors would face that choice only if the current jury fails to reach a verdict.

For now, the same 12 jurors will return Thursday to continue deliberations after receiving Sullivan’s strongest instruction urging them to reach a unanimous decision. If they remain deadlocked, the trial could move from verdict watch to a decision over whether to declare a mistrial.