A jury of nine women and three men have been tasked to decide whether Lindsay Clancy should be found guilty of killing her three children in January 2023.
While she has never denied murdering her kids, her defense team has argued that her mental state was so impaired at the time that she shouldn’t be held criminally responsible for the deaths of Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months. Meanwhile, the prosecution argued Clancy was aware of what she was doing and even tried to die by suicide after the killings.
As the jury enters day four of deliberations, Us breaks down what will happen if they cannot reach a verdict in the case.
What Happens If the Jury Cannot Reach a Verdict in Lindsay Clancy Case?
On September 1, 2026, the jury told the judge that they were unable to come to a unanimous verdict. However, Judge William Sullivan instructed them to take extra time to keep deliberating.
If the jury is still unable to reach a verdict after further discussing the matter, Sullivan will likely declare a deadlock.
The case will then likely end in a mistrial. If this is the case, the prosecution will have to decide whether they want to retry the case or dismiss it.
What Happens If Lindsay Clancy’s Trial Ends in a Mistrial?
Legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani shared his predictions on what will happen if Clancy’s trial ends in a mistrial, saying he believes the prosecution will retry the case.
“There’s no double jeopardy if they retry the case because no verdict was reached,” Rahmani told People of the prosecution.
He went on to say that he was “almost 100 percent certain that the prosecution will retry the case.”
“There are three dead children, and the political pressure on the prosecution to retry the case will be overwhelming. Not refiling the case is how district attorneys get voted out of office,” Rahmani continued. “I’m not saying that charging decisions are always made for political reasons, but when you deal with elected officials, public sentiment matters.”
He added that “not prosecuting means that Lindsay Clancy goes free.”
“This is not insanity where she would spend time in a psychiatric facility. She would be a free woman,” Rahmani said.
Retrials Often Favor the Prosecution, Says Expert
Another reason Rahmani believes that prosecution would choose to have another trial is because retrials generally favor the prosecution.
“The defense no longer has the element of surprise. The prosecution knows how the defense witnesses will testify. They can better prepare. In this particular case, I think the prosecution can learn from their mistakes. And I think they overextended themselves and they overpromised at the beginning of the trial and they took a more balanced approach at the end of the trial,” he said. “I think they could potentially do a better job. But this is a very tough case.”
He continued, “I can’t recall a case where the facts aren’t really in dispute. There’s reasonable people who look at this case and can view it very differently. So I think it’s going to be a hard case to get 12 out of 12 people beyond a reasonable doubt. If it mistrials once, it may well mistrial again.”
If you or someone you know is pregnant or just had a baby and is in crisis, help is available. Call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline for free, confidential support 24/7 in English and Spanish at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262).
