Lindsay Clancy's trial overturned after jurors failed to reach a consensus

Judge William Sullivan overturned the trial after the jury could not reach a consensus after a week of deliberations on whether to find Clancy guilty of premeditated triple murder, guilty of lesser charges or acquitted by reason of insanity.

The trial of a woman who admitted to strangling her children aged 8 months, 3 and 5 years old has been electrifying the media and public opinion for weeks.

Translations by Lindsay Clancy

Clancy, a nurse by profession, explained her actions as postpartum psychosis, which she struggled with after the birth of her last child.

The woman testified that she heard a voice calling her to kill the children, and after the murder she tried to kill herself by cutting her wrists and jumping out of the window, which partially paralyzed her. Before the crime, she talked about her problems, including suicidal thoughts, to doctors and filed a civil lawsuit against them, accusing them of negligence.

During the trial, expert psychiatrists called by both sides offered contradictory assessments. The jurors were also unable to reach an agreement.

They wanted the juror removed

On the sixth day of jury deliberations, Clancy's defense attorney suggested that the consensus was blocking one of them because he did not want to follow the principle that people should not be convicted if there is a reasonable doubt as to their guilt. The lawyers demanded that the juror be removed, but the judge refused. The Massachussetts appeals court also rejected a request to stay the judge's order declaring the trial invalid.

Faced with a mistrial, prosecutors must decide whether to re-indict the case, drop the case, or offer a plea deal to the defendant.

The case caused great emotion in America, with crowds gathering outside the courthouse in Plymouth, including those defending Clancy, portraying her as a victim of disregard for mothers' mental health.