Deadlocked jury in Lindsay Clancy trial returns for sixth day of deliberation

Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial returned to the courthouse in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on Thursday for a sixth day of deliberation after twice saying they can’t agree whether the former labor and delivery nurse is criminally responsible for killing her three young children.

If jurors ultimately cannot agree on a verdict, Judge William Sullivan could declare a mistrial.

While both sides agree she killed her children, Clancy’s defense team argued she suffered from postpartum psychosis, with defense attorney Kevin Reddington stating that “lousy medical care” exacerbated her condition. Prosecutors at the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office argued she intentionally planned the killings and that the nation’s health care system was “not on trial here.”

Postpartum psychosis is estimated to afflict 1 to 2 per 1,000 women after delivery. Experts at the Cleveland Clinic describe it as a mental health emergency affecting someone’s sense of reality. It can happen to anyone after giving birth, but the chances are higher for people with certain mental health conditions. Though most people with postpartum psychosis don’t harm their children, mothers with severe cases may try to do so, and may also try to harm themselves.

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