BBC News • 4:09 • intermediate • News
Q1. What was Lindsay Clancy accused of?
6 words to learn — tap cards to flip and save favorites.
/ˈmɪsˌtraɪəl/
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Definition
A trial that is invalid due to a significant error or a hung jury, preventing a verdict from being reached.
Example
The judge declared a mistrial after the jury could not come to a unanimous decision.
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/saɪˈkoʊsɪs/
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A severe mental disorder characterized by a disconnection from reality, which may include hallucinations or delusions.
Example
Postpartum psychosis can lead to dangerous behaviors if not treated promptly.
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/dɪˈlɪbəˌreɪtɪŋ/
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The process by which a jury discusses the evidence and reaches a verdict.
Example
The jury spent several hours deliberating before announcing their decision.
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/ˌprɑːsɪˈkjuːʃən/
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The legal party responsible for presenting the case against an individual accused of a crime in a court of law.
Example
The prosecution argued that the defendant had premeditated the crime.
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/ˈdʒʊərər/
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A member of a jury, which is a group of people sworn to render a verdict in a legal case.
Example
Each juror must carefully consider the evidence presented during the trial.
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/ˈɡruːəlɪŋ/
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Extremely tiring and demanding, often involving intense effort or hardship.
Example
The grueling trial lasted for weeks, exhausting both the jurors and the attorneys.
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A trial in America that's captured the attention of millions of a woman accused of killing her three children has just ended in a mistrial. Lawyers for Lindseay Clancy, who's 36, didn't deny she strangled her children in Massachusetts in
2023, but said she'd been suffering from a rare and severe mental illness, postpartum psychosis. Prosecutor, however, said she intentionally committed murder. Well, after a trial lasting more than six weeks, the jury today failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
Ioni Wells is live outside the courthouse in Massachusetts for us now. Ioni Clyde, there was a moment in the courtroom earlier where the whole room just fell silent when it was confirmed that after 5 weeks of grueling testimony
and evidence, six days of jurors deliberating, they could not reach a verdict. after the suggestion that it was in fact just one juror uh that perhaps disagreed with the others, something which the defense alleged towards the end of
this trial. The jur judge thanked the jury anyway for endeavoring in what has been such a complex trial with very little precedent as my report here explains and I should warn that there are some distressing details in it.
What drove this mother to kill her three children? She admitted doing it. Kora was five, Dawson was three, Ken in the middle just eight months old. Clancy strangled them all in the basement of their home. She then jumped
out of a window attempting suicide which left her paralyzed. Her now ex-husband, the children's father, was picking up dinner. He came home to find them. When you saw Dawson, um, what condition was he in? Um, I I knew
he was gone. Testimony about that night and what led to it were televised throughout in a case that gripped the nation. At this point, I'm going to declare that the jury is deadlocked and I'm going to declare a
mistrial. Concerns had been raised that one juror wasn't following the instruction that guilt must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. The defense argued Clancy was not in control of her actions. She was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a little known
about and severe mental health illness that affects some women after giving birth. Lady is not guilty. The court heard she was a devoted mother to these children, but her illness caused her to hear a voice telling her to
kill her children and herself. Clancy tried to seek help, called suicide hotlines, even checked herself in to a psychiatric hospital. The medication was pretty much just destroying her mind. and it wasn't her. The prosecution said she knew what
she was doing and that it was planned. This was a woman who acted intentionally, rationally, and swiftly to accomplish a very specific goal to kill. Clansy's lawyer appealed to a higher court to continue the trial, but it was
denied. I'm representing a woman who is a fantastic, wonderful individual and it's not right what she had to go through because she grieves the loss of those three children. The district attorney said the prosecution hasn't decided yet whether
to file for a fresh trial with a new jury. understand that this has been an emotional trial for everybody, but in the end, I bring it all back to the child victims in this case, Kora, Dawson, and Ken.
This was and has always been about getting justice for those three little babies. This case has started a national debate about mental health care for new mothers and forced a jury to grapple with the most complex moral and
medical questions. Where does the line between illness and responsibility begin and end? A question still unanswered. Ioni Wells, BBC News in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
