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Lindsay Clancy trial ends in mistrial
Clancy had admitted to killing her three young children by strangling them and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Her defense argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.
Jurors deliberated for seven days and nearly forty hours, and the judge made multiple attempts to bring them to a unanimous decision. Eleven of the twelve appeared to agree that Clancy shouldn't be held guilty of first-degree murder, and one juror held out, producing a deadlock that couldn't be broken.
The prosecutor would not say whether he will retry the case.
How does an insanity defense work at trial?
Legal insanity is a legal standard rather than a medical diagnosis, and the test varies by state. Many states use a version of the Model Penal Code test, which asks whether, because of a mental disease, the defendant lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the conduct or to conform it to the law. Experts for both sides usually testify about the defendant's mental state at the time of the act. A verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity typically leads to commitment to a psychiatric facility rather than release.
How does a hung jury lead to a mistrial?
In most US criminal courts, a verdict must be unanimous. When jurors cannot agree after genuine deliberation, the judge declares a mistrial. Judges often give a deadlocked jury an instruction urging them to reconsider, known as an Allen charge after an 1896 Supreme Court case. A mistrial caused by a hung jury is not an acquittal, and the Supreme Court held in Richardson v. United States in 1984 that double jeopardy does not bar a retrial. Since Ramos v. Louisiana in 2020, state felony juries must be unanimous as well.
Why is postpartum psychosis treated separately from depression?
Postpartum psychosis is rare, occurring in roughly one to two of every thousand births, according to commonly cited estimates from psychiatric research. It typically begins within the first weeks after delivery and involves symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and confusion. Postpartum depression is far more common and usually does not involve a break from reality. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about one in eight women who give birth have symptoms of postpartum depression.