Judge William Sullivan rules a retrial is not double jeopardy because the first jury deadlocked, clearing the way for a second trial of Lindsay Clancy.
A Massachusetts judge on Monday denied Lindsay Clancy's motion to dismiss her triple-murder case, paving the way for the 36-year-old to be tried again, Courthouse News Service reported. In a 17-page ruling, Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan found a retrial would not be double jeopardy because her initial jury deadlocked. "A hung jury is a traditional example of manifest necessity that permits retrial without offending double jeopardy," Sullivan wrote.
Clancy stood trial this year for strangling her three young children to death in 2023. Her first case ended in a mistrial after one holdout juror prevented an acquittal. Clancy says she was experiencing postpartum psychosis and should be found not guilty by reason of insanity. Eleven of the 12 jurors were prepared to accept that argument, according to the report. In notes to the court, they wrote that the holdout, since identified as Michael Desronvil, did not follow the court's instructions on reasonable doubt and was steadfast in his vote to convict.
Clancy argued at a hearing last week that the judge should have probed the jury to see if there was good cause to dismiss the holdout, referred to as "Juror Doe" throughout the proceedings. Sullivan found the record "did not reasonably suggest Juror Doe's inability to deliberate or refusal to follow the law." He wrote that cases Clancy cited involved notes that were quite specific, and in many cases quoted detailed comments from the juror himself.
Sullivan issued a separate ruling rejecting state prosecutors' request for a gag order. Prosecutors had argued Clancy's defense attorneys disparaged Desronvil in news conferences and made other prejudicial statements. Sullivan found the state failed to meet the high bar that would justify such a prior restraint order on the attorneys' speech.
