Lindsay Clancy’s attorney says he’s open to a plea deal, but there’s no easy path

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Days after Lindsay Clancy’s complicated triple-murder trial ended with a hung jury , leaving her fate in limbo, her defense attorney expressed an openness to reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors to avert a second trial – but experts say any negotiations would likely be an uphill battle.

In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, defense attorney Kevin Reddington appeared willing to cooperate with Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz to reach an agreement, though he insisted he would not agree to any deal in which his client would serve jail time.

“I want to hear what Tim has to say,” the defense attorney said Wednesday, a day after telling ABC’s “Good Morning America” he hoped the DA would reconsider his stance after the first trial.

“I hope, however, after sitting through this trial and seeing the evidence that was presented from the government, as well as from the defense, that he would revisit that issue.”

Clancy admitted to fatally strangling her three children but pleaded not guilty to three charges of first-degree murder, arguing she should not be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she killed them and then attempted suicide. After more than 38 hours of deliberations, the trial ended last week with a hung jury , as one holdout juror prevented the panel from finding her not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility.

Greg Derr/Pool/The Patriot Ledger

Lindsay Clancy juror says holdout ‘admitted he had reasonable doubt’

The prospect of a plea deal is likely appealing for those who dread the arduous process of another protracted trial full of emotional testimony, graphic evidence, charged public debates and courthouse antics.

But Massachusetts lawyers and legal experts expressed skepticism an agreement would be reached, pointing to the difficulty the parties would have in reaching common ground and the various factors Cruz must weigh as he considers retrying the case.

“All of these considerations – the sentiments of the victims’ family, the politics, the resource allocation – all of those really should be secondary to that bigger issue of would justice be served,” said Daniel Medwed, a professor of law and criminal justice at Northeastern University School of Law.

“Does this case deserve to be prosecuted again? And I think that’s something that the office probably will be struggling with.”

On Friday, Cruz – a Republican prosecutor who has held his office for nearly 25 years – said he had not yet decided whether to retry the case. But he reiterated his office has always been focused on Clancy’s children: Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months.

“We’re here at this courthouse today because those children are not,” he told reporters after the judge declared a mistrial, adding one of a prosecutor’s most important functions is to “speak for the victims who are no longer here.”

“I appreciate the fact that there are strong feelings and opinions tied to this case,” Cruz said, nodding to the divisive public sentiment surrounding the case. “However, our job is to set aside our feelings and focus solely on the facts.”

A prosecutor’s primary responsibility is to seek justice, Medwed said, though the appropriate way to do so varies case-by-case.

“I think the basic question is: Would justice be served by conviction? And if you reach the answer yes, then what’s the best way of achieving that?” Medwed said.

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“If you’re thinking it’s unlikely that you’ll achieve a conviction through trial, then you might begin to think about the lesser charges that you could offer (in negotiations).”

As the person with the authority to both retry the case and initiate plea negotiations, Cruz currently “holds all the cards,” said Janice Bassil, a Massachusetts criminal defense attorney.

Legal experts said prosecutors are likely considering the significant resources they invested into the seven-week trial as they decide how to move forward – with some saying the sunk costs could factor into Cruz’s proclivity to retry the case.

“He’s a hard-charging prosecutor, and this is also an election year,” said Boston-based defense attorney Elyse Hershon. “So, I don’t see him coming down and backing off of this.”

In addition to the logistical strain of a second trial, the emotional toll is also top of mind for many, including Patrick Clancy , the defendant’s former husband and the father of the three victims. After the declaration of a mistrial, his attorney released a statement saying: “The prospect of reliving this tragedy through another trial is extraordinarily painful – for Patrick, for his family, and for all us.”

“Hearing from surviving family members is a factor, but it’s not necessarily the dominant factor,” Medwed said. “Because prosecutors represent the people of the jurisdiction, and they have to make a decision that, in their view, is in the best interests of the community.”

Though the public sentiment surrounding the case has been divided, many outspoken Massachusetts residents congregated at the courthouse in support of Clancy, wearing their signature pink. Some even heckled Cruz, who is currently running for re-election, after the conclusion of the trial.

Greg Derr/Pool/The Patriot Ledger/Pool/AP

Lindsay Clancy’s triple-murder case ended in a mistrial. What happens next?

Still, while the political aspect of the case may be a factor, experts say public pressure may not tip the scales – particularly since Cruz is running unopposed, according to CNN affiliate WCVB .

“Until there’s a viable person who’s going to run against him, it just doesn’t matter,” Bassil said.

If prosecutors were open to reaching a plea bargain rather than pushing forward with a retrial, legal experts said it would likely be challenging to find a resolution both parties would agree to.

Clancy was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, though her jury was also able to consider lesser charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter.

But if Cruz were to accept a plea on any of the lesser charges, experts said it would be a drastic reversal from his stance that Clancy deliberately murdered her three children; on Friday, the district attorney reiterated his belief that first-degree murder charges were “warranted and appropriate in these circumstances.”

“I don’t see him coming down and backing off of this, especially because at his press conference he doubled down on first degree murder,” Hershon said.

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Reddington – a longtime Massachusetts defense attorney who is viewed as a feminist icon among Clancy’s supporters – would likely be heading into any negotiations focused on Clancy’s potential sentence and bolstered by the jury’s 11-1 split that appeared to favor his client.

In an interview Wednesday, the defense attorney said he would not accept a plea agreement that included jail time for his client, who could have been placed in a psychiatric facility had she been found not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility.

“I would not ever agree that she do any time in jail,” Reddington told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Wednesday. “She needs to be treated for her mental health condition, has to have good physicians, and she has to have good medication, that’s it.”

But experts who spoke with CNN said a typical plea deal would involve the defendant being sentenced to either jail time or probation – not a psychiatric facility. And they struggled to envision a feasible plea agreement that would provide a clear path guaranteeing Clancy would remain in a medical facility, given legal constraints surrounding people with mental illness and the limits of the court’s authority.

Lindsay Clancy’s attorney expresses willingness to work out a plea deal

Some experts raised a remote outcome that could see Clancy committed to a hospital: if the parties jointly agreed Clancy is not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility and the judge concurred, it would likely start the process of having her confined to a psychiatric facility – just as if a jury had rendered such a verdict.

But former Massachusetts juvenile court judge Carol Erskine cautioned it was highly unlikely prosecutors would agree to this option, given “this is what they’ve been fighting all along.”

Others expressed doubt Cruz would be willing to agree to a guilty plea on the lesser manslaughter charges, with Hershon saying such a resolution would be “a big walk down” for the district attorney.

Bassil agreed: “I don’t see him compromising on this.”

CNN’s Lauren del Valle contributed to this report.

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在林赛·克兰西 (Lindsay Clancy) 复杂的三重谋杀案审判因陪审团无法达成一致而告终，她的命运悬而未决几天后，她的辩护律师表示愿意与检方达成认罪协议，以避免第二次审判——但专家表示，任何谈判都可能是一场艰苦的战斗。

在接受 CNN 安德森·库珀的采访时，辩护律师凯文·雷丁顿似乎愿意与普利茅斯县地方检察官蒂莫西·克鲁兹合作达成协议，但他坚持表示，他不会同意任何让他的当事人入狱服刑的协议。

“我想听听蒂姆怎么说，”辩护律师周三说道。此前一天，他告诉美国广播公司（ABC）的“早安美国”节目，他希望地方检察官在第一次审判后重新考虑他的立场。

“但我希望，在旁听了这场审判，看到了控辩双方提出的证据之后，他能够重新考虑这个问题。”

克兰西承认勒死了她的三个孩子，但她对三项一级谋杀指控拒不不认罪。她辩称，自己在杀害孩子并试图自杀时患有产后精神病，因此不应承担刑事责任。经过超过38小时的审议，上周审判因陪审团意见不一而流审，一名陪审员坚持认为她不负刑事责任，导致陪审团无法做出无罪判决。

格雷格·德尔/Pool/《爱国者纪事报》

林赛·克兰西案陪审员称，那位坚持己见的陪审员“承认他有合理怀疑”。

对于那些害怕再次经历漫长而艰辛的审判过程的人来说，认罪协议的前景可能很有吸引力，因为审判过程中充满了情绪激动的证词、触目惊心的证据、激烈的公开辩论和法庭上的滑稽场面。

但马萨诸塞州的律师和法律专家对能否达成协议表示怀疑，他们指出双方很难达成共识，而且克鲁兹在考虑是否重审此案时必须权衡各种因素。

“所有这些考量——受害者家属的感受、政治因素、资源分配——所有这些都应该让位于正义是否得到伸张这个更大的问题，”东北大学法学院法律和刑事司法教授丹尼尔·梅德韦德说。

“这个案子是否值得再次起诉？我认为这可能是检察官办公室会纠结的问题。”

周五，已担任检察官近25年的共和党人克鲁兹表示，他尚未决定是否重审此案。但他重申，他的办公室始终将克兰西的三个孩子——5岁的科拉、3岁的道森和8个月大的卡兰——的利益放在首位。

“我们今天来到这里，是因为那些孩子已经不在了，”他在法官宣布审判无效后告诉记者，并补充说，检察官最重要的职责之一是“为那些已经不在人世的受害者发声”。

“我理解公众对这起案件持有强烈的情感和意见，”克鲁兹说道，他显然也注意到了围绕此案的激烈争论。“但是，我们的职责是抛开个人情感，只关注事实。”

梅德韦德说，检察官的首要职责是寻求正义，但寻求正义的适当方式因案件而异。

“我认为最根本的问题是：定罪能否伸张正义？如果答案是肯定的，那么实现正义的最佳途径是什么？”梅德韦德说道。

CJ Gunther/Getty Images

“如果你认为通过审判不太可能定罪，那么你或许可以开始考虑（在谈判中）提出较轻的指控。”

马萨诸塞州刑事辩护律师詹妮丝·巴塞尔表示，克鲁兹目前“掌握着所有主动权”，因为他既有权重审此案，也有权发起认罪协商。

法律专家表示，检察官在决定如何推进此案时，可能会考虑到他们在为期七周的审判中投入的大量资源——一些人表示，沉没成本可能会影响克鲁兹重审此案的倾向。

“他是一位作风强硬的检察官，而且今年又是选举年，”波士顿的辩护律师伊莉丝·赫尔肖恩说，“所以，我不认为他会退缩。”

除了第二次审判带来的后勤压力外，情感上的创伤也令许多人忧心忡忡，其中包括被告的前夫、三名受害者的父亲帕特里克·克兰西。在宣布审判无效后，他的律师发表声明称：“再次经历这场悲剧，再次审判，对帕特里克、他的家人以及我们所有人来说，都无比痛苦。”

“听取幸存家属的证词固然是一个因素，但并非决定性因素，”梅德韦德说。“因为检察官代表的是辖区内的民众，他们必须做出他们认为最符合社区利益的决定。”

尽管公众对此案的看法不一，但许多直言不讳的马萨诸塞州居民聚集在法院外，身着标志性的粉色服装，声援克兰西。审判结束后，一些人甚至对正在竞选连任的克鲁兹进行了嘲讽。

格雷格·德尔/Pool/《爱国者纪事报》/Pool/美联社

林赛·克兰西的三重谋杀案以审判无效告终。接下来会发生什么？

不过，尽管此案的政治因素可能是一个因素，但专家表示，公众压力可能不会改变局势——尤其是据 CNN 附属电视台 WCVB 报道，克鲁兹此次竞选没有对手。

“除非出现一个有竞争力的候选人与他竞争，否则这一切都毫无意义，”巴塞尔说。

如果检方愿意达成认罪协议而不是坚持重审，法律专家表示，找到双方都能接受的解决方案可能会很困难。

克兰西被控三项一级谋杀罪，但陪审团也可以考虑较轻的二级谋杀罪和过失杀人罪。

但专家表示，如果克鲁兹接受对任何较轻指控的认罪，这将与他之前认为克兰西故意谋杀了她的三个孩子的立场截然相反；周五，这位地方检察官重申了他的观点，即一级谋杀指控“在这些情况下是合理且适当的”。

“我不认为他会认错，更不会放弃这个指控，尤其是在新闻发布会上，他反而加倍强调自己犯有一级谋杀罪，”赫尔肖恩说道。

约瑟夫·普雷齐奥索/法新社/盖蒂图片社

雷丁顿是一位长期在马萨诸塞州执业的辩护律师，在克兰西的支持者眼中，他被视为女权主义偶像。他可能会参与任何以克兰西的潜在刑期为重点的谈判，而陪审团 11 比 1 的投票结果似乎对他的委托人有利，这无疑会增强他的信心。

周三，辩护律师在接受采访时表示，他不会接受包含对其当事人判处监禁的认罪协议。如果当事人因缺乏刑事责任能力而被判无罪，她可能会被送进精神病院。

“我绝不会同意让她坐牢，”雷丁顿周三告诉CNN的安德森·库珀。“她需要接受精神健康方面的治疗，需要好的医生，需要有效的药物，仅此而已。”

但接受CNN采访的专家表示，典型的认罪协议会判处被告监禁或缓刑，而不是送进精神病院。考虑到精神疾病患者的法律限制以及法院权限的局限性，他们很难想象出一项可行的认罪协议，能够明确保证克兰西会继续留在医疗机构接受治疗。

林赛·克兰西的律师表示愿意达成认罪协议。

一些专家提出了一种可能性很小的结果，即克兰西可能会被送进医院：如果双方一致认为克兰西因缺乏刑事责任能力而无罪，并且法官也同意，那么很可能会启动将她送往精神病院的程序——就像陪审团做出这样的裁决一样。

但马萨诸塞州少年法庭前法官卡罗尔·厄斯金警告说，鉴于“这是他们一直以来所反对的”，检察官不太可能同意这一选择。

其他人则表示怀疑克鲁兹是否愿意就较轻的过失杀人罪认罪，赫尔肖恩表示，这样的结果对地方检察官来说将是“一次巨大的退让”。

巴塞尔表示赞同：“我认为他在这件事上不会妥协。”

CNN的劳伦·德尔·瓦莱对本报道亦有贡献。