Commonwealth v. Clancy

 2383CR00198 · Plymouth Superior

Commonwealth v. Clancy, September 1, 2026

TuesdayreporteddeliberationsDay 25 of 28

The jury opened a fourth day of deliberating at 9:14 a.m., told Judge Sullivan around 10:09 it could not reach a unanimous verdict, and recessed at day's end without one, to resume Wednesday.

Key points
  • THE JURY OPENED A FOURTH DAY OF DELIBERATING AT 9:14 A.M. Judge Sullivan took the bench at about 9:10 with the courtroom packed with media and the public; the defendant was present with her lawyer, her parents and sister in the second row behind the two nurses who wheeled her in. After his standard question about outside coverage of the case overnight, he sent the jury back out at 9:14 to resume deliberating. Boston Globe, September 1, 9:10, 9:11 and 9:14 a.m.
  • THE JURY TOLD THE JUDGE IT COULD NOT REACH A UNANIMOUS VERDICT, AND HE SENT THEM BACK TO KEEP DELIBERATING. What arrived shortly after ten as an unspecified question, taken up first at sidebar, turned out to be a note in which the jury wrote that after many hours of deliberation it was unable to come to a unanimous decision. Judge Sullivan brought the jurors into the courtroom, noted the length of the trial and the volume of evidence, and told them to go back out and continue deliberating, without giving any further special instruction. Boston Globe, September 1, 10:09, 10:12 and 10:17 a.m.; Fox News, September 1, 10:11 and 10:21 a.m.; Boston 25, September 1.
  • THE JURY GOES INTO A FOURTH DAY WITH ROUGHLY SEVENTEEN HOURS BEHIND IT. The twelve first retired at about twenty-five minutes to one on Thursday, August 27, and were excused three times without a verdict on any of the three counts. The Boston Globe put the total at past seventeen hours as the third day ended Monday evening. Boston Globe, August 31, 3:46 p.m. By Tuesday morning, after the deadlock note, CNN put the total at about nineteen hours and WBUR at about eighteen. CNN, September 1, 10:40 a.m.; WBUR, September 1.
  • THE QUESTION IS CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND THE BURDEN IS THE COMMONWEALTH'S. The defense stipulated on August 4 to the acts, so what the jury has to decide is whether, as a result of mental disease or defect, the defendant lacked substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of what she did or to conform her conduct to the law, and whether the Commonwealth has disproved that beyond a reasonable doubt.
  • THE JURY HAS THREE VERDICT SLIPS, ONE FOR EACH CHILD, WITH FIVE CHOICES ON EACH. Not guilty; not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility; guilty of murder in the first degree; guilty of murder in the second degree; guilty of manslaughter. Any verdict has to be unanimous. Boston Globe, August 27, 12:30 p.m.
  • THE MEDICATION BOTTLES AND THE KNIFE ARE IN THE JURY ROOM, AND THE JURY'S QUESTION HAS NEVER BEEN MADE PUBLIC. On Kevin Reddington's account to the Boston Globe, the jurors asked on Friday morning for the prescription bottles and the knife she used on herself, exhibits that had not gone back with the others, and both were sent in. Judge Sullivan took the question up with counsel at a sidebar and ended it without telling the courtroom what had been asked, which the Globe describes as highly unusual. Boston Globe, August 28, 10:29 and 10:56 a.m.
  • THE SIX ALTERNATES HAVE NOT BEEN DISCHARGED. Three men and three women, drawn from the eighteen-member panel seated in July, they are being held nearby and apart from the deliberating twelve, because one of them would have to take the seat of any juror who could not carry on. Boston Globe, August 28.
  • NO WITNESSES ARE EXPECTED. Both sides rested and the evidence closed on Wednesday, August 26, so there is nothing further for the jury to hear.
  • A VERDICT OF NO CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY WOULD NOT MEAN RELEASE. Judge Sullivan told the jurors in his charge that such a verdict would likely be followed by commitment to a state hospital for as long as a judge thought her a danger. Boston Globe, August 27.
  • COUNSEL CRITICIZED THE TELEVISION COVERAGE OF THE CASE AND SAID HE WOULD ACCEPT WHATEVER THE JURY DECIDES. Outside the courthouse on Monday, Kevin Reddington criticized two Fox personalities' coverage of the case, said he was nervous with the jury out, as he typically is, and told Fox News that whatever the jury decides, "we accept, and that's it," adding that he had no idea how much longer deliberations would run. Those remarks were made to reporters outside the courtroom, not in it. Boston Globe, August 31, 9:50 a.m.; Fox News, August 31, 2:06 p.m.
  • A REPORTED DEADLOCK DOES NOT END DELIBERATIONS ON ITS OWN. Retired Superior Court judges interviewed by the Boston Globe explained that a trial judge who hears from a foreperson that the panel is stuck can still order it back to work, under what is known in Massachusetts as the Tuey-Rodriguez instruction; only if a judge later concludes, weighing the length of the trial against the length of the deliberations, that the jury has genuinely exhausted its ability to agree, would a mistrial follow. Boston Globe, September 1, 10:30 a.m.
  • THE JURY'S FOREPERSON IS A WOMAN WITH GRAY HAIR AND GLASSES, AND JURORS TOOK NOTES THROUGHOUT TESTIMONY. The deliberating panel is nine women and three men. CNN, September 1, 10:27 a.m.
  • A DEADLOCK REPORT DID NOT END DELIBERATIONS IN THE FIRST KAREN READ TRIAL, EITHER, THOUGH THAT ONE ENDED IN A MISTRIAL. Jurors in Read's 2025 murder trial in Norfolk County told the judge on their fourth day that they had reached an impasse after what the Globe describes as an exhaustive review of the evidence; the judge sent them back, and a mistrial was declared on the fifth day after about 27 hours of deliberating. A second jury acquitted Read of murder the following June. Boston Globe, September 1, 10:52 a.m.
  • A SECOND MASSACHUSETTS INSANITY CASE ALSO HUNG BEFORE ENDING IN CONVICTION. The Globe cited Emanuel Lopes, tried on an insanity defense over the 2018 killings of a Weymouth police sergeant and a 77-year-old woman: a first jury deadlocked in July 2023 after roughly two weeks, and a second jury convicted him on both murder counts at retrial in February 2024. Boston Globe, September 1, 11:20 a.m.
  • THE DYNAMITE CHARGE HAS PRODUCED A VERDICT BEFORE IN A MASSACHUSETTS INSANITY CASE. The Globe reported that it is rare for a jury to return a verdict after receiving the Tuey-Rodriguez, or 'dynamite,' charge, but it has happened: at Emanuel Lopes's retrial, the jury convicted him only after receiving the charge twice, according to his lawyer, Larry R. Tipton. Sullivan has not given this jury that instruction yet. Boston Globe, September 1, 11:44 a.m.
  • A CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY EXPLAINED THE PATH FROM A DEADLOCK NOTE TO A POSSIBLE MISTRIAL. Elyse Hershon, a criminal defense attorney with no part in the case, told CNN that a deadlock does not end a trial immediately: the judge can send jurors back to deliberate more than once, and if they keep reporting they are stuck, will eventually give what is known as a “dynamite charge” — special instructions offering a final chance to reach a verdict — before declaring a mistrial if that fails. She said she would expect at least one or two more notes from the jury before a mistrial, and that it is not clear whether the panel is deadlocked on all three counts or could return a partial verdict. CNN, September 1, 11:05 a.m.
  • SULLIVAN HAS NOT YET GIVEN THE JURY THE TUEY-RODRIGUEZ INSTRUCTION. CNN explained that if the panel keeps reporting itself deadlocked, the judge may read what Massachusetts calls the Tuey-Rodriguez instruction and other states call an Allen charge -- telling jurors to weigh the reasonableness of their own view against their colleagues' and that it is desirable the case be decided -- before a mistrial is considered. Sullivan has not read it to this jury. In the first Karen Read trial, the judge did read it to a deadlocked jury, which still could not agree, and a mistrial followed. CNN, September 1, 11:19 a.m.
  • MASSACHUSETTS LAW LIMITS HOW MANY TIMES A JUDGE CAN SEND A JURY BACK ON HIS OWN. NBC News reported that under Massachusetts law, Sullivan can encourage the jury to keep deliberating, but not more than twice, unless the jury itself consents to continue further. NBC News, September 1.
  • DEFENSE COUNSEL SAID HE WOULD RETRY THE CASE IF THE JURY HANGS. Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom earlier Tuesday, before the deadlock note, Kevin Reddington said he has “really strong faith” in the jury and would “absolutely” retry the case if it ends in a hung jury, telling a reporter who asked what a hung jury would mean, “Try it again.” Asked whether a verdict might come that day, he said, “Maybe today’s the day; we’ll see. I don’t know.” In the same exchange, Reddington predicted the Commonwealth would not walk away from the case either: “Tim Cruz will never drop it, that’s for sure,” referring to Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz. NBC News, September 1; Fox News, September 1, 3:06 p.m.
  • A RETIRED JUDGE SAID THE DYNAMITE CHARGE USUALLY WORKS ONCE GIVEN. Retired Superior Court judge John T. Lu, not otherwise involved in the case, wrote to the Boston Globe that in his experience jurors who report themselves deadlocked often go on to reach a unanimous verdict, and that such cases “absolutely do not always end up as a mistrial.” He said jurors should “stay the course” and “follow your conscience but listen to other jurors attentively.” Boston Globe, September 1, 12:01 p.m.
  • A JURY CONSULTANT SAID THE PANEL LOOKED FOCUSED BUT LIKELY FATIGUED. Speaking to CNN Tuesday morning before the deadlock note arrived, body language expert and jury consultant Susan Constantine said the jurors appeared “hyper focused” on deconstructing and rebuilding their view of the case, noting they had not asked for the verdict form or the instructions again, but that the effort was likely leaving them fatigued and could raise the risk of cognitive bias among jurors who had already formed opinions. CNN, September 1, 11:59 a.m.
  • OUTSIDE THE COURTROOM, THE WAIT RESUMED AFTER THE DEADLOCK NOTE. With the benches in the hallway full, media and Clancy supporters were sitting on the floor or standing, and many looked up each time the courtroom door opened, though it was usually a court official passing through on other business. Boston Globe, September 1, 12:28 p.m.
  • A LEGAL ANALYST SAID THE JURY LOOKS TO BE NEARING THE END OF ITS DELIBERATIONS, AND EXPLAINED WHAT A MISTRIAL WOULD MEAN. WBZ-TV legal analyst Jennifer Roman told CBS Boston that if the jury deadlocks a third time and a mistrial is declared, prosecutors would then decide whether to retry Clancy, which they could do without any double-jeopardy bar since she has never been convicted of anything — the same posture that let prosecutors retry Karen Read after her hung jury — and might present the case differently the second time. Roman said the jury's signals suggest it does not have "another 20 hours left in them," and that she expects to hear from it again before the day is out. CBS Boston, September 1, by 11:54 a.m.
  • CNN LAID OUT THE STEPS BETWEEN A DEADLOCK AND A RETRIAL. If the jury again reports itself unable to agree, Judge Sullivan can still send it back to deliberate further; the parties would likely argue to him about whether to keep pressing the jury before he considers declaring a mistrial over a hung jury. A mistrial would leave prosecutors free to retry Clancy before a new jury, and either side could then seek to move the case to another jurisdiction, arguing a fair trial isn't possible where the crime occurred. Prosecutors typically weigh the victims' family's views on a retrial, which CNN noted is complicated here because the families of the victims and the defendant are intertwined; a plea agreement could also avert a second trial. CNN, September 1, 1:01 p.m.
  • A CNN LEGAL ANALYST DESCRIBED THE JURY AS SUBDUED WHEN IT WAS SENT BACK, AND SAID SULLIVAN CHOSE THE MILDER PATH OVER THE 'DYNAMITE' CHARGE. CNN's Jean Casarez said the panel showed none of its usual warmth toward Judge Sullivan Tuesday morning -- stone-faced, much as jurors had looked leaving court the day before -- while Sullivan himself stayed calm and made no attempt to press them, opting against the harsher Tuey-Rodriguez, or "dynamite," instructions in telling them to keep deliberating. CNN, September 1, 1:54 p.m.
  • CNN COMPARED A POSSIBLE NOT-GUILTY-BY-REASON-OF-MENTAL-ILLNESS VERDICT TO TWO OTHER HIGH-PROFILE CASES. Beyond the six-month initial commitment and the yearly, unlimited renewals already reported, CNN noted Andrea Yates, the Texas mother acquitted by reason of insanity at a 2006 retrial for drowning her five children, remains committed nearly two decades later, and John Hinckley Jr., found not guilty by reason of insanity for shooting President Reagan in 1981, was gradually allowed supervised visits and was not freed from all court oversight until 2022. The outlet also noted Clancy, held at Tewksbury Hospital since 2023, is still on psychiatric medication, citing forensic psychologist Paul Zeizel. CNN, September 1, 2:54 p.m.
  • A JURY CONSULTANT TOLD CNN THE PANEL MAY BE STUCK BECAUSE THE COMPETING EXPERTS WERE EQUALLY CREDIBLE. Alan Tuerkheimer, a jury consultant and attorney not otherwise connected to the case, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown that jurors appear "dug in" after hearing a Commonwealth expert testify that Clancy knew right from wrong and a defense expert, who saw her eleven days after the killings, testify that she could not have appreciated the wrongfulness of her conduct -- both, in his view, convincing, which left the panel without an obvious way to reconcile them. Asked how jurors could set aside sympathy for the case, he said they could not entirely do so, given the children's photographs and autopsy evidence in the record, but that the difficulty of the task did not mean they would fail at it. CNN, September 1, 3:11 p.m.
  • A VISITOR FROM HOUSTON DESCRIBED SOLIDARITY WITH CLANCY, AND HER LAWYER PRAISED THE JURY'S EFFORT. The Boston Globe described a hushed, tense mood among the crowd gathered outside the Plymouth courthouse Tuesday, including one woman who had traveled from Houston and said her own history with postpartum mental illness made her sympathetic to Clancy regardless of the outcome. Separately, Reddington told reporters outside court that the jurors have shown real sincerity and are working hard; asked how his client was faring emotionally, he said it has been tough on him too, calling it something that “tears my heart out.” Boston Globe, September 1, 3:22 and 3:24 p.m.
  • CNN PUBLISHED BACKGROUND ON POSTPARTUM PSYCHOSIS, THE CONDITION AT THE CENTER OF THE DEFENSE. CNN described postpartum psychosis as rare and severe, affecting roughly 2 of every 1,000 women after childbirth, usually within the first month, with symptoms that can include insomnia, delusions, hallucinations and rapidly shifting manic and depressive states; left untreated, the outlet cited research putting the added risk of infanticide at about 4 percent and of suicide at about 5 percent. CNN, September 1, 3:26 p.m.
  • JURORS LOOKED STOIC AND SUBDUED AS THEY WERE DISMISSED FOR THE DAY. CNN described the panel as having asked to go home early Tuesday afternoon, seemingly showing the toll of four days of deliberating; jurors did not look at either party as they entered, did not talk among themselves the way they sometimes had earlier in the trial, and appeared to lack some of their earlier enthusiasm as Judge Sullivan dismissed them. One juror rubbed his eyes as Sullivan spoke, another clasped and unclasped his hands, and one of the women on the panel managed a faint smile as he sent them home for the night. CNN, September 1, 4:12 p.m.
  • DEFENSE COUNSEL SAID THERE IS NO PLEA DEAL AVAILABLE, WITH THE COMMONWEALTH SEEKING CONSECUTIVE LIFE SENTENCES. Leaving the courthouse Tuesday, Kevin Reddington told Fox News the case remains locked at three counts of first-degree murder with no negotiation underway, and that District Attorney Timothy Cruz is pursuing consecutive life sentences on all three convictions. Fox News, September 1, 4:34 p.m.
  • DEFENSE COUNSEL CALLED THE JURY'S CONTINUED WORK ENCOURAGING. Reddington told reporters outside the courthouse that the jury not declaring itself finished was heartening and a sign it was still working hard, but cautioned against reading the impasse itself as good or bad for either side. Boston Globe, September 1, 4:53 p.m.
  • DEFENSE COUNSEL DESCRIBED CLANCY AS SUBDUED AND SAID A MISTRIAL ISN'T A CERTAINTY WHILE THE JURY KEEPS WORKING. Speaking outside the courthouse, Reddington described his client as sad and flat in affect after another day without a verdict, and said no when asked if she would be emotionally ready to sit through a second trial. He would not predict how the jury will come out, saying only that a mistrial remains distant as long as the panel keeps deliberating. Boston Globe, September 1, 5:05 p.m.
  • DEFENSE COUNSEL SAID IT IS THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, NOT THE COURT, WHO CONTROLS WHETHER THE CASE COULD BE RESOLVED WITHOUT A NEW JURY TRIAL. Asked about alternatives if the jury cannot agree, Reddington said a first-degree murder charge in Massachusetts must be tried before a jury, and that only the Commonwealth can change that by reducing the charge to second degree, which a defendant could then waive to a judge. He said the decision rests with Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz, not with him or the court, and directed reporters to ask Cruz why the charges have not been reduced. Cruz, who was in the courtroom Tuesday, was asked for comment as he left the courthouse and said, "Waiting for the verdict." Boston Globe, September 1, 5:12 p.m.

Rulings and objections

Procedural

Sourcesglobe-day-24 cbs-day-24 fox-day-24 globe-day-23 fox-day-23 cbs-day-23 globe-day-22 globe-day-25 foxnews-day-25 cbs-day-25 boston25-day-25 boston-day-25 ap-day-25 abc7-day-25 nbcboston-day-25 cnn-day-25 abcnews-day-25 nbcnews-day-25 wbur-day-25 eastidaho-day-25
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