A male juror from the Lindsay Clancy trial has spoken publicly about the tense deliberations, saying he pushed hard to convince the panel’s lone dissenting member to support a not-guilty finding on the murder charges.
Clancy, 36, did not dispute that she strangled her three young children with exercise bands. Her defense, however, centered on claims that she was battling postpartum depression and had been placed on a mix of medications that triggered a psychotic episode.
Following five and a half weeks of testimony, 11 of the 12 jurors concluded that Clancy should be acquitted of murder and manslaughter in the January 2023 deaths of five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan.
But one juror would not agree to clear the former labor and delivery nurse, leaving the panel deadlocked and leading Judge William Sullivan to declare a mistrial in the high-profile Massachusetts case.
Nick Dargie, 25, one of the three men on the jury, has since claimed that the unidentified holdout failed to point to specific evidence that justified his refusal to acquit Clancy.
‘There were several times I would ask him to show us evidence or, you know, describe a witness testimony that helped to prove what he was saying and… he couldn’t,’ Dargie told ABC News.
‘There wasn’t a single piece of evidence or witness testimony that he used to prove why he was thinking the way he was, which is why we ultimately sent in that note,’ he continued.
The note he referenced was given to Judge Sullivan by the jury foreperson before Sullivan declared a mistrial.
‘Otherwise, like, there’s nothing wrong with somebody having a completely opposite opinion… that would be a hung jury. That, like that, is our justice system.’
Lindsay Clancy, 36, faces a potential retrial after a jury of nine women and three men were unable to agree on whether she was guilty of the murders or manslaughter
Nick Dargie, 25, claims the unidentified dissident on the jury did not provide the other panelists with any evidence explaining his vote.
Jury foreperson Roni Carlson previously told NBC Boston how the lone holdout ‘would not interact with us and try to understand’
Dargie’s comments come just one day after three female jurors told NBC Boston that the holdout ‘would not interact with us and try to understand.’
Hi, I’m Rachel Sharp, US Editor of The Crime Desk.
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‘He had reasonable doubt. He admitted he had reasonable doubt,’ jury foreperson Roni Carlson claimed.
‘I started filling out the forms, I was so excited. There were three forms I had to fill out, and then he said, “But I’m still not going to say she’s not guilty.”‘
Jurors in Massachusetts are instructed that in order to prove a defendant is criminally responsible for their conduct, prosecutors must ‘prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not suffer from a mental disease or defect at the time of the alleged offense.’
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Carlson said she came to the conclusion that Clancy ‘snapped’ after hearing character witnesses describe how Clancy was a loving mother.
In total, the jury of nine women and three men spent more than 37 hours as the one juror refused to side with the others.
At one point, defense attorney Kevin Reddington sought an emergency order to try and force jurors to enter one final round of deliberations.
But the motion failed, and Judge Sullivan declared a mistrial at Plymouth Superior Court last Friday afternoon. As a result, Clancy could face a retrial in the case.
Carlson described how she came to the conclusion after listening to witnesses describe Clancy as a loving mother
Clancy was charged with murder after strangling her three children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan in 2023
In a desperate attempt to prevent that from happening, Reddington on Tuesday
pleaded with President Donald Trump to consider pardoning Clancy, describing her as a good person.
‘Mr President, I hope that you would consider this young lady, the type of person she is, what she’s been through, and consider a pardon,’ the lawyer said on Good Morning America.
He went on to describe Clancy as being ‘intelligent’ and ‘hardworking,’ while describing the strong bond he has with Clancy.
‘I do feel a very strong bond with Lindsay because of the type of person she is. She’s such a wonderful, wonderful person,’ the lawyer said as he acknowledged he didn’t know much about postpartum depression before taking on Clancy’s trial.
Despite the plea, the president cannot pardon defendants facing state charges.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington has pleaded with President Donald Trump to
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Should someone with severe mental illness be held fully responsible for a tragedy like this?
Meanwhile, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz has not yet announced whether he plans to retry Clancy.
‘I appreciate the fact that there are strong feelings and opinions tied to this case,’ he said outside the courthouse on Friday.
‘However, our job is to set aside our feelings and focus solely on the facts. The facts are Lindsay Clancy killed her three children and the evidence suggested to us that she was in control of her actions when she committed these homicides.’
Reddington and Cruz are now set to meet in court on September 29 to determine the next steps in the case.