Deadlocked Lindsay Clancy set to deliberate for a sixth day as mistrial looms

What we're covering:

No verdict yet: The jury in the Lindsay Clancy trial will be back for its sixth day of deliberations today, after telling the judge on Tuesday and Wednesday that it could not come to a unanimous verdict.

Possibility of mistrial: Yesterday, the judge read the Tuey-Rodriguez charge , a special, final instruction that asks them to consider the reasonableness of all opinions. If they are deadlocked again, it is likely the judge will declare a mistrial.

About the case: The Massachusetts mother is accused of murder after strangling her three young children in 2023. Prosecutors have argued Clancy acted “ intentionally, rationally, and swiftly ” to kill her children, while the defense said she should not be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis .

The judge read the the Tuey-Rodriguez charge. Here's what that is

Greg Derr/Pool/The Patriot Ledger

When a jury says it is hopelessly deadlocked, a judge may read aloud special instructions known as a “dynamite charge.” The idea is to blow up any impasse to avoid a hung jury and mistrial.

In Massachusetts, this is referred to as the Tuey-Rodriguez instructions and is known nationally as an Allen Charge. In Clancy’s trial, Judge William F. Sullivan read the Tuey-Rodriguez charge to the jury on Wednesday.

The instruction asks jurors to consider the reasonableness of their own opinions and others’ and to continue deliberating toward a verdict.

Another case : In 2024, the judge overseeing Karen Read’s first murder trial read aloud the Tuey-Rodriguez instructions to a deadlocked jury. After deliberating further, that jury still could not come to a verdict, and the judge declared a mistrial.

The jury has been deliberating for about 30 hours. Catch up on what happened yesterday

The 12 deliberating jurors have not been able to reach a unanimous verdict after nearly 30 hours of deliberations. Twice now, the jury has told the court they are deadlocked on Lindsay Clancy’s guilt. And twice the jurors were directed by the judge to continue deliberating and try to break the impasse.

Now they are back for their sixth day of deliberations . If the jury says it can’t reach a verdict again, the judge will likely declare a mistrial.

Here’s a recap of what happened yesterday to get you up to speed:

In the afternoon, the jury sent a note to the court : “After much deliberation we are still unable to come to a unanimous decision.” Jurors also sent a note saying they couldn’t come to a verdict Tuesday morning.

Most of the jurors were looking down as they walked into the courtroom. Several female jurors had their hands clasped in front of them.

Judge William F. Sullivan read the Tuey-Rodriguez instructions to the jury. This special instruction is known as a “ dynamite charge ” and is nationally called an Allen Charge. The idea is to blow up any impasse to avoid a hung jury and mistrial.

The instruction asks jurors to consider the reasonableness of their own opinions and others’ and states that it is “desirable that the case be decided.”

Sullivan then instructed jurors to keep deliberating , which they did until they went home at about 4 p.m. ET.

If the judge declares a mistrial , the prosecution will most likely state their intent to retry the case and Clancy would be returned to Tewksbury Hospital where she would continue being held without bail on her murder charges, CNN’s Jean Casarez explained.

CNN’s Amanda Musa, Eric Levenson, Rebekah Riess, Nicki Brown, Kara Scannell, Jeff Winter and Sarah Boxer contributed reporting.

我们将报道以下内容：

尚未作出判决：林赛·克兰西案的陪审团今天将进行第六天的审议，此前他们在周二和周三告诉法官，他们无法达成一致的判决。

审判无效的可能性：昨天，法官宣读了图伊-罗德里格斯指示，这是一项特别的最终指示，要求陪审团考虑所有意见的合理性。如果陪审团再次陷入僵局，法官很可能会宣布审判无效。

案件概述：马萨诸塞州一名母亲被控于 2023 年勒死自己的三个年幼子女，犯有谋杀罪。检方认为，克兰西“故意、理性、迅速”地杀害了自己的孩子，而辩方则表示，她不应承担刑事责任，因为她患有产后精神病。

法官宣读了对图伊-罗德里格斯的指控。以下是指控内容。

格雷格·德尔/Pool/《爱国者纪事报》

当陪审团表示陷入僵局时，法官可以宣读被称为“炸药指令”的特殊指示。其目的是打破僵局，避免陪审团无法达成一致意见，从而导致审判无效。

在马萨诸塞州，这被称为图伊-罗德里格斯指示，在全国范围内则被称为艾伦指示。在克兰西的审判中，威廉·F·沙利文法官于周三向陪审团宣读了图伊-罗德里格斯指示。

该指示要求陪审员考虑自己意见和他人意见的合理性，并继续进行审议以作出裁决。

另一案例：2024年，在凯伦·里德的首次谋杀案审判中，法官向陷入僵局的陪审团宣读了图伊-罗德里格斯指示。陪审团进一步审议后仍无法达成一致意见，法官宣布审判无效。

陪审团已经审议了大约30个小时。回顾一下昨天发生的事情。

经过近30个小时的审议，12名陪审员仍未能达成一致裁决。陪审团已两次向法庭表示，他们对林赛·克兰西是否有罪存在分歧。法官也两次指示陪审员继续审议，努力打破僵局。

现在陪审团已进入第六天的审议。如果陪审团再次表示无法达成一致意见，法官很可能会宣布审判无效。

以下是昨天事件的简要回顾，以便您快速了解情况：

当天下午，陪审团向法庭递交了一份书面声明：“经过长时间的商议，我们仍然无法达成一致意见。” 陪审员们周二上午也递交了一份声明，称他们未能达成裁决。

陪审员们走进法庭时，大多低着头。几名女陪审员双手交叠放在身前。

威廉·F·沙利文法官向陪审团宣读了图伊-罗德里格斯指示。这项特别指示被称为“炸药指示”，在全国范围内也被称为艾伦指示。其目的是打破任何僵局，避免陪审团无法达成一致意见，从而导致审判无效。

该指示要求陪审员考虑自己和他人的意见是否合理，并指出“希望案件能够得到裁决”。

随后，沙利文指示陪审员继续进行审议，陪审员们一直审议到美国东部时间下午 4 点左右回家。

据 CNN 记者 Jean Casarez 解释，如果法官宣布审判无效，检方很可能会表示他们打算重新审理此案，而 Clancy 将被送回 Tewksbury 医院，继续因谋杀指控而被关押，不得保释。

CNN 的 Amanda Musa、Eric Levenson、Rebekah Riess、Nicki Brown、Kara Scannell、Jeff Winter 和 Sarah Boxer 也参与了报道。