Commonwealth v. Clancy, August 24, 2026
Mack's cross-examination resumed on his qualifications. One outlet, twenty minutes in.
Key points
- THINLY REPORTED, AND FROM ONE OUTLET. Only the Boston Globe's live blog has posted from today's sitting. Nothing here is corroborated, and the day is barely under way.
- THE CROSS RESUMED ON MACK'S CREDENTIALS RATHER THAN HIS DIAGNOSIS. Reddington's first questions of the morning went to how rarely Mack has testified on criminal responsibility — one or two times on his own estimate — and to prior cases in which judges questioned his qualifications. It continues the line the Globe, Boston 25 and East Idaho News all recorded at about 15:28 on Friday.
- THE CROSS THEN TURNED TO HOW THE EVALUATION WAS DONE. At about 9:29 Mack confirmed two days with Clancy at Tewksbury Hospital in April, psychological testing carried out by a colleague, and his own lodging at a private home in Wellesley. He also said he did not believe his testimony had been struck in an earlier Florida lawsuit over the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. No source yet reports what Reddington intends to make of any of it.
- MACK CALLED HIMSELF A GENERALIST, naming adolescent mental health and addiction among his focuses. That is his answer to Reddington's Friday suggestion that he has little experience with postpartum patients, and it matters because the Commonwealth's whole rebuttal rests on his opinion.
- HE IS APPEARING BY VIDEO LINK. The Globe reports him resuming by Zoom. No outlet reported how he appeared on Friday, so nothing here says this is a change.
- THE TWO EXPERTS REMAIN IN DIRECT CONFLICT. Resnick, for the defense, testified the defendant was psychotic on January 24 and could not conform her conduct to the law. Mack, for the Commonwealth, gave a major depressive episode, no bipolar disorder and no psychosis, with capacity retained. The jury has to choose between them on the only live issue in the case.
- HOW MANY REBUTTAL WITNESSES REMAIN IS ADVANCE REPORTING, NOT SOMETHING SAID IN COURT TODAY. CBS Boston's day-19 page puts it at about two more; that matches what Reddington told reporters outside court on Friday. None has been named, and none has been called.
- THE REPORTED DAYS FOR CLOSING ARGUMENTS DO NOT AGREE. The Boston Herald has Judge Sullivan indicating Tuesday or Wednesday; CBS Boston reported a Monday-or-Tuesday condition from the bench, whose Monday limb failed when Mack's cross did not finish; the Globe's own preview puts them as early as Tuesday. Recorded as a discrepancy, not resolved.
- STILL UNRESOLVED FROM AUGUST 20: whether involuntary manslaughter goes on the verdict slip and whether the jury is instructed on involuntary intoxication. Both were requested by the defense, opposed by the Commonwealth, and no ruling has been reported.
- The Boston Herald records eighteen jurors still sitting, to be narrowed at random to the twelve who deliberate.
Witnesses (1)
Dr. Avram MackCommonwealth
Psychiatrist, called by the Commonwealth as its first rebuttal witness. The Boston Globe places him practicing and teaching in Philadelphia and gives his expertise as forensic psychiatry.
Direct: Sprague Cross: Reddington
- ON THE STAND AND UNDER CROSS-EXAMINATION. He resumed at about 9:18, by video link, with Kevin Reddington's cross-examination — begun at about 14:50 on Friday and unfinished at the weekend break — still running. Boston Globe, and no other outlet has yet reported from today's sitting.
- CROSS — HOW OFTEN HE HAS TESTIFIED ON THE QUESTION IN ISSUE. At about 9:21 Reddington asked him how many times he had testified in court on criminal responsibility. Mack estimated one or two, which the Globe notes would make this case about his third. Boston Globe alone.
- CROSS — WHAT KIND OF PSYCHIATRIST HE IS. He told the jury he considers himself a generalist, giving adolescent mental health and addiction among his focuses. The Globe frames it against Reddington's suggestion on Friday that he has little experience treating postpartum patients. Boston Globe alone.
- CROSS — PRIOR CASES IN WHICH JUDGES QUESTIONED HIS QUALIFICATIONS. At about 9:24 Reddington put such cases to him. Mack acknowledged having formed opinions in comparable cases, but said he did not recall the cases Reddington raised, or disagreed with the way Reddington characterized the rulings. The Globe does not name the cases. Boston Globe alone.
- CROSS — A FLORIDA LAWSUIT, AND WHETHER HIS EVIDENCE THERE WAS STRUCK. At about 9:29 he was asked about an earlier Florida case concerning the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. He said he did not believe his testimony in it had been struck. The Globe gives no more of the case than that. Boston Globe alone.
- CROSS — HOW HE EXAMINED THE DEFENDANT. He confirmed that he saw Clancy at Tewksbury Hospital in April, on two separate days, and that a colleague carried out psychological testing. He said he stayed at a private home in Wellesley while the evaluation was going on and did not know where his colleague stayed. Nothing yet reported explains what Reddington was driving at. Boston Globe alone.
Procedural
- 09:13The Boston Globe describes the largest crowd of the trial so far at Plymouth Superior Court, with press and public both trying for courtroom seats. Boston Globe alone.
- 09:14The jury was brought in, at about 9:15 on the Globe's account. Judge William Sullivan questioned the jurors about avoiding the weekend's media coverage of the case. Boston Globe alone.
- 09:15OUTSIDE THE COURTHOUSE, NOT A COURTROOM EVENT. The Globe posted on the demonstrations twice, at 9:10 and 9:15; both are recorded here once. Small groups wore pink in support of Clancy, among them a psychiatric nurse practitioner from Plymouth, Kathleen Hood, who told the Globe she had come because of her own experience of postpartum anxiety. About a dozen people wore white for the three children — Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months — and said the children were the real victims. Boston Globe alone.
- 09:18Dr. Avram Mack resumed his testimony, appearing by video link, as the Commonwealth's rebuttal witness. His cross-examination by Kevin Reddington had been unfinished when court broke on Friday. Boston Globe alone.
- 09:21Cross-examination on his experience. Reddington asked how many times he had testified on criminal responsibility and Mack put it at one or two; Mack described himself as a generalist, naming adolescent mental health and addiction among his focuses. Boston Globe alone.
- 09:24Cross-examination on his qualifications. Reddington raised prior cases in which judges had questioned them; Mack said he did not recall those cases or disagreed with Reddington's characterization of the rulings. Boston Globe alone.
- 09:29Cross-examination continued, on a prior case and on how this evaluation was conducted. Mack said he did not believe his testimony had been struck in an earlier Florida lawsuit concerning the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. He confirmed that he examined Clancy at Tewksbury Hospital in April on two separate days, with a colleague carrying out psychological testing, and that he stayed at a private home in Wellesley while he did so; he said he did not know where his colleague stayed. Boston Globe alone.