Commonwealth v. Clancy

Commonwealth v. Clancy, September 3, 2026

The jury deliberated a sixth day, including a mid-afternoon dispute over a holdout juror that Sullivan resolved by re-instructing the panel rather than removing anyone. Jurors were sent home without a verdict and return Friday.

Procedural

• 09:10Court opened for a sixth day of deliberations. Judge William Sullivan took the bench, greeted the parties and called in the jury. Boston Globe, September 3, 9:10 a.m.; CNN, September 3, 9:11 a.m.
• 09:13Judge Sullivan sent jurors out to resume deliberating with no further instruction: “I’m going to ask you to resume your deliberations,” he said. “Thank you.” CNN put the panel's total deliberation time at about 29.5 hours as it resumed. Boston Globe, September 3, 9:13 a.m.; CNN, September 3, 9:14 a.m.
• 09:29Jurors filed into the courtroom looking down and subdued, though they answered audibly when Sullivan asked whether anything had reached them that could affect their impartiality. About 20 spectators, mostly women and several in pink, had already lined up for public seating; Reddington stopped to greet and hug some of Clancy's supporters before taking his seat beside her. ABC News separately placed Clancy's parents and sister in their usual second-row seats and put jurors beginning a 31st hour of deliberating as they filed out. CNN, September 3, 9:29 a.m.; ABC News, September 3, 9:42 a.m.
• 09:35Jurors passed the 30-hour mark of total deliberation time just after 9:30. They have twice told Judge Sullivan they are deadlocked but continue working toward a verdict. Boston Globe, September 3, 9:35 a.m.
• 09:40A light rain fell as Clancy's supporters and reporters gathered outside the courthouse for the sixth day of deliberations, with TV crews recording live shots under tents in the parking lot and other media staged in the hallway near the courtroom. With a mistrial looking increasingly possible, the Boston Globe described the mood at the courthouse as somber and resigned. Boston Globe, September 3, 9:40 a.m.
• 09:59Boston defense attorney Peter Elikann, unaffiliated with the case, told ABC News that a further deadlock leaves Sullivan little choice but to declare a mistrial, since he cannot send jurors out to deliberate again without their own consent, which Elikann called doubtful at this point. ABC News, September 3, 9:59 a.m.
• 10:23Reddington told reporters Clancy has been receiving letters of support from around the world, brought a box of them to court and said she reads every one; he handed the letters to her parents in the courtroom. CNN, September 3, 10:23 a.m.
• 11:10Waiting outside the courtroom, several Clancy supporters described bonding over their own histories with postpartum depression, including a first-time observer who said she saw her past illness reflected in Clancy's behavior before the killings and called the prosecution a punitive waste of public money; another attendee said she expected a mistrial given how the case reduces a complex illness to a binary question of guilt. Boston Globe, September 3, 11:10 a.m.
• 11:22The courthouse hallway grew too crowded for the benches, with spectators and reporters spilling onto the floor to wait for word from the jury; some read or scrolled on their phones to pass the time. CNN, September 3, 11:22 a.m.
• 12:08Reddington told reporters outside court that letters of support for Clancy have arrived from around the world -- "you name the country," he said -- and that she reads all of them but keeps their contents private. Asked whether he had ever represented a client who drew this level of public support, he said no. Fox News, September 3, 12:08 p.m.
• 12:46Reddington dismissed the Commonwealth's three rebuttal witnesses as unqualified to reporters outside court, naming Dr. Mack among them and saying none had undercut the defense case for postpartum psychosis. Asked whether the deadlock meant prosecutors had failed to meet their burden, he said he would not credit those experts' conclusions at all. Fox News, September 3, 12:46 p.m.
• 12:26CBS News legal contributor Caroline Polisi, speaking on CBS Mornings, said the jury was likely to deliberate a while longer largely to satisfy the judge before reporting itself hopelessly deadlocked, and that Sullivan would then be bound to declare a mistrial rather than push jurors further toward a verdict that could look coerced on appeal. CBS Boston, September 3, 12:26 p.m.
• 12:44Former prosecutor Margaret McLean told CNN the deadlock was unsurprising given how emotionally charged the case is, describing jurors as likely split between those focused on the deaths of the three children and those persuaded by the defense's psychosis theory. CNN, September 3, 12:44 p.m.
• 12:54The jury broke for lunch, on recess until 2 p.m. Boston Globe, September 3, 12:54 p.m.
• 13:10CNN put the jury's total deliberation time at about 33½ hours as court broke for the lunch recess, and reported that Sullivan had told jurors before the break that they could keep deliberating through lunch if they chose. Fox News, reporting on the same recess, said it was not clear whether the jury was continuing to work or pausing to eat. CNN, September 3, 1:10 p.m.; Fox News, September 3, 1:06 p.m.
• 13:59Asked outside the courthouse about the deadlocked jury, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said only, “Well, we’ll hang on and find out,” and declined to say whether he would seek a retrial if the case ends in a mistrial, telling reporters he would talk once the case is over. CNN, September 3, 1:59 p.m.
• 14:00The jury's lunch recess ended and deliberations resumed. Boston Globe, September 3, 2:00 p.m.
• 14:04CBS News legal contributor Caroline Polisi, in a fresh CBS Boston piece as deliberations resumed, put the split jury in wider context: she called a deadlock unsurprising given how the public itself divides on the case, comparing the panel to a microcosm of that disagreement, and again said a hopeless-deadlock report looked like the likely outcome. CBS Boston, September 3, 2:04 p.m.
• 14:18A long line formed outside the courtroom after the lunch break, mixing regular observers, several wearing pink in support of Clancy, with first-time spectators hoping to see the case resolved. Court staff gave no indication that a development was imminent. Boston Globe, September 3, 2:18 p.m.
• 14:23Defense attorney Kevin Reddington told CNN this deliberation is unlike any in his career; the longest he had previously seen ran ten days, but he called this case uniquely intense. Asked whether it would be nerve-wracking if the jury returned after being deadlocked, he turned the question around: "What if it's 11-1 for acquittal?" CNN, September 3, 2:23 p.m.
• 14:41Prosecutors, including Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz, were seen entering the courtroom shortly before 2:40 p.m. The reason was not immediately clear, and reporters were waiting for word. Boston Globe, September 3, 2:41 p.m.
• 14:42The jury sent a note to Judge Sullivan. Its contents were not immediately known. Fox News, September 3, 2:42 p.m.
• 14:45Clancy's parents were also seen entering the courtroom alongside the prosecutors, and media and trial observers lined up waiting to be let in. Boston Globe, September 3, 2:45 p.m.
• 14:50The hallway outside the courtroom filled with people waiting to get in; the Boston Globe put the jury's total deliberation time at about 35 hours over six days. Boston Globe, September 3, 2:50 p.m.
• 14:53Members of the media were seated inside the courtroom, ahead of the public. More than 60 reporters, including from the New York Times and NBC, had signed the courtroom's media list. Boston Globe, September 3, 2:53 p.m.; CNN, September 3, 2:51 p.m.
• 14:55A court officer cut off the line of spectators still waiting to get in, telling the remaining crowd in the hallway that no more would be seated. Boston Globe, September 3, 2:55 p.m.
• 14:56Outside the courthouse, broadcasters and members of the public kept watch on the doors; a cluster of photographers pressed against the courtroom's glass wall waiting for anyone to come out and speak. Boston Globe, September 3, 2:56 p.m.
• 14:57Inside the courtroom, the only sound was reporters typing on their laptops as everyone waited for Judge Sullivan to take the bench. Boston Globe, September 3, 2:57 p.m.
• 15:00Court resumed and Judge Sullivan took the bench, immediately asking counsel for both sides to approach for a sidebar rather than addressing the courtroom. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:00 p.m.; CNN, September 3, 3:01 p.m.
• 15:01The courtroom was tense as the sidebar began; members of the public leaned in and whispered to each other, while Clancy sat looking straight ahead rather than toward Reddington beside her. CNN, September 3, 3:01 p.m.
• 15:02At sidebar, Reddington could be seen speaking to the judge, though not heard, then sighed and appeared to frown before the prosecutor took a turn speaking with the judge, all still out of the courtroom's earshot. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:02 p.m.
• 15:05The sidebar turned into what the Boston Globe described as a heated exchange between Judge Sullivan and Reddington, with Reddington repeatedly gesturing toward the defense table where Clancy sat in her wheelchair; CNN reported Reddington slammed his hand on the papers on the judge's bench and raised his voice before picking the papers back up and walking to the defense table, where he leaned over across from Clancy until their foreheads nearly touched. East Idaho News gave a different account of the papers, reporting that Sullivan handed paperwork to Reddington, that Reddington pushed it back at the judge, and that after Sullivan raised his voice, Reddington threw the papers to the ground. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:05 p.m.; CNN, September 3, 3:10 p.m.; East Idaho News, September 3, 3:10 p.m.
• 15:07Reddington wheeled Clancy up toward the bench so she could hear what the judge was telling jurors; the Boston Globe reported him first whispering the situation to her at the defense table, and CNN reported Sullivan then speaking with her directly, Clancy turning to look back at Reddington, who rubbed her shoulder as she leaned back into him. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:07 p.m.; CNN, September 3, 3:14 p.m.
• 15:09Outside the courthouse, rain turned to a downpour; about two dozen press and members of the public sheltered under the awning, some watching the courtroom livestream and discussing in hushed voices what might be happening at the sidebar. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:09 p.m.
• 15:12The judge began summoning jurors individually to the bench, swearing each in and questioning them one at a time; the Boston Globe described a juror in seat one and then seat two being questioned under oath in turn, and CNN reported the exchanges as brief, with jurors nodding or answering only once or twice before being excused, all appearing stoic, while Clancy remained standing near the bench throughout. The Globe noted this kind of individual questioning is how a judge checks whether jurors who have reported deadlock are willing to keep deliberating or consider themselves hopelessly split, and that the decision to stop belongs to the jurors, not the court; it said a public announcement was expected once all were questioned. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:12 p.m., 3:13 p.m., 3:16 p.m. and 3:18 p.m.; CNN, September 3, 3:15 p.m.
• 15:20The forewoman was the last of the twelve jurors questioned individually at sidebar; the alternates were not called in, indicating the inquiry concerned only the status of deliberations. Each juror stepped within inches of Clancy, who sat in her wheelchair facing away from the gallery, Reddington standing behind her with his hands on the wheelchair's handles. Retired Massachusetts Superior Court judge Christopher Muse, not involved in the case, told the Globe that the law requires discharging a jury found deadlocked after due consideration, but allows a judge to ask jurors, in a noncoercive way, whether further deliberation might help, and to have the jury consent to continue on that basis. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:19 and 3:20 p.m., 3:21 p.m.
• 15:22The sidebar ended after about 20 minutes. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:22 p.m.
• 15:24The jury returned to the courtroom. CNN, September 3, 3:24 p.m.
• 15:27Judge Sullivan instructed the jury again on the law, telling them they are required to follow his instructions and that the burden is on prosecutors to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, then read the model instruction on reasonable doubt the jurors had heard previously. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:26 and 3:27 p.m.; CNN, September 3, 3:27 p.m.
• 15:29Judge Sullivan asked the jury to resume deliberating, and jurors left the courtroom to continue. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:28 p.m.; CNN, September 3, 3:29 p.m.
• 15:30Judge Sullivan called the lawyers back to a sidebar after sending the jury out to resume deliberating. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington was animated during the exchange, shaking his head at points. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:30 p.m.
• 15:33Following the sidebar, Reddington told the court the jury foreperson had reported that one juror "refuses to listen to the law" on reasonable doubt, and moved to remove that juror, arguing the court's instruction had not gone far enough. He warned that reaching a mistrial "in a half an hour" over one juror's refusal to follow instructions "would be a shame." Prosecutors objected to removing anyone, arguing there was no way to know what was happening inside deliberations or who was correct, and that it was not the court's place to intervene. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:32 p.m.; CNN, September 3, 3:35 p.m.; Fox News, September 3, 3:38 p.m.
• 15:34Judge Sullivan denied the motion, saying he was responding to a specific jury question but did not think it proper for him to take sides: "I don't feel it's appropriate for me to say I agree with one juror or 11," he said, and called the discharge of a deliberating juror a "sensitive undertaking." He noted the jurors had again affirmed they could follow his instructions, said "the defendant's objection is noted, and we will be in recess on this at this time," and put the court in recess. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:33 and 3:34 p.m., and 5:21 p.m. recap; Fox News, September 3, 3:38 p.m.
• 15:40Outside the courthouse, more than two dozen members of the public re-formed a line to get back into the courtroom once the session resumed, while reporters worked at laptops and phones during the recess. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:40 p.m.
• 15:41Some spectators in the gallery reacted with audible frustration as Sullivan explained the reasonable-doubt instruction, telling jurors it was not enough for the Commonwealth to show a strong probability Clancy is "more likely guilty than not guilty" -- they had to be convinced of her guilt to a reasonable and moral certainty. CNN, September 3, 3:41 p.m.
• 15:45CNN identified the prosecutor at sidebar as Jennifer Sprague, who told the judge his individual questioning of jurors and his reasonable-doubt reinstruction were both proper under Commonwealth v. Ralph, and that prosecutors had no objection to either step. CNN, September 3, 3:45 p.m.
• 15:52CNN legal analysts Mark O'Mara and Areva Martin, discussing the holdout-juror dispute, said it was reasonable to assume the other jurors have spent the past 35 hours trying to persuade one member to change position; O'Mara called it presumptuous of Reddington to ask that the juror be removed, and Martin said she doubted the judge's renewed instruction would move the panel closer to a verdict. CNN, September 3, 3:52 p.m.
• 15:55Outside the courthouse, spectators reacted to the day's sidebars with dejection; one, who drove from Boston to watch and said her own mother had postpartum psychosis, said the exchange over the holdout juror sounded to her like a juror concealing bias during selection, and said the trial would be a waste if it produced no change to how the system handles cases like it. Boston Globe, September 3, 3:55 p.m.
• 16:04Court resumed and media and members of the public were again let into the courtroom. Boston Globe, September 3, 4:04 p.m.
• 16:09Jurors returned to the courtroom after further deliberation. CNN, September 3, 4:09 p.m.
• 16:10Judge Sullivan excused the jury for the day without a verdict; deliberations resume Friday at 9 a.m. Boston Globe, September 3, 4:10 p.m.; CNN, September 3, 4:10 p.m.
• 16:18Before adjourning, Sullivan asked counsel if there was anything to address ahead of Friday's deliberations; despite the defense's motion to remove a juror minutes earlier, neither side raised anything further. The court then went into recess until Friday morning. Boston Globe, September 3, 4:18 p.m.
• 16:20Defense attorney Joseph Perullo, unaffiliated with the case, told the Boston Globe that an 11-to-1 jury split is not unusual: a holdout can lawfully stick to their conscience without engaging further, and Sullivan's move to repeat his reasonable-doubt instruction rather than remove the juror followed established practice. Boston Globe, September 3, 4:20 p.m.
• 16:20Retired Massachusetts Superior Court judge Jack Lu told Fox News the jury's note could be read as favorable to the defense, saying it suggested a lopsided panel in which a majority may be pushing back against one or more holdouts unwilling to find guilt. Fox News, September 3, 4:20 p.m.
• 16:25CNN put the jury's total deliberation time at about 36.5 hours as the sixth day ended without a verdict; ABC News separately placed it at about 36 hours. CNN, September 3, 4:25 p.m.; ABC News, September 3, 4:10 p.m.
• 16:30Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told CNN that Sullivan was right not to dismiss the juror the foreperson's note described as refusing to follow the reasonable-doubt instruction, calling that one of the few grounds on which a dismissal could draw an appeal from the Commonwealth. Rahmani said Reddington's request reflected a defense bet that removing the juror could open a path to acquittal, and that a third report of deadlock would most likely bring a mistrial. CNN, September 3, 4:30 p.m.
• 16:38Analyst Robert Hirschhorn told CNN he doubted the panel would remove the juror described as a holdout, saying such a juror is typically either someone who entered with a fixed position or one the parties failed to draw out during jury selection, and that he did not expect the overnight recess to change her mind. Fellow analysts Alyse Adamson and Neama Rahmani discussed the possibility, not confirmed by the court, that the split described in the note runs 11-1 toward a lack-of-criminal-responsibility verdict; both said prosecutors would likely weigh retrying the case on the murder theory in that scenario, with Rahmani predicting they would pursue it given the case involves three children's deaths. CNN, September 3, 4:38 p.m.
• 16:38Two retired Massachusetts Superior Court judges, speaking to the Boston Globe, cautioned against reading too much into Reddington's bid to remove the juror without knowing exactly what jurors told Sullivan. Thomas Drechsler said a deliberating juror is rarely removed over conduct like this; Jack Lu said he had never seen one removed simply because other jurors believed the person was defying instructions, though he added that if the underlying dispute concerns reasonable doubt, that could favor the defense, and that Reddington likely expected the motion to be denied. Boston Globe, September 3, 4:38 p.m.
• 16:49Reddington told reporters outside the courthouse he "hopes" the jury reaches a verdict Friday, saying the note the judge had received showed "there are 11 jurors that have made a decision and one juror will not apply reasonable doubt." CNN, September 3, 4:49 p.m.
• 17:07Reddington told reporters Sullivan plans to question the juror he had asked to have removed at a 9 a.m. hearing Friday, before deliberations resume. Asked whether that one juror was the reason no verdict has come, Reddington said she had doubts but was not following the judge's instruction. CNN, September 3, 5:07 p.m.
• 17:09Reddington said as he left the courthouse that Clancy was heartened by the day's proceedings and retains faith in the jury, adding that he had not discussed the dispute over the holdout juror with her directly. CNN, September 3, 5:09 p.m.
• 17:32Reddington told reporters he did not want a mistrial, saying, "Why would I want a mistrial? We kicked the [expletive] out of their case." He said he did not know whether the other eleven jurors favored a not-guilty verdict, adding, "I never talked to them." Boston Globe, September 3, 5:32 p.m.
• 17:36A crowd of reporters, photographers and content creators swarmed Reddington as he left the courthouse, following him to a cutoff point in the parking lot where state troopers held the group back; at least one bystander fell and a journalist dropped their phone after being struck by a boom mic. Boston Globe, September 3, 5:36 p.m.
• 17:40Massachusetts Bar Association past president Marsha Kazarosian told the Boston Globe that Thursday's jury note, which posed a question rather than reporting a third deadlock, suggested the panel was still making progress. She said Sullivan's individual questioning of jurors was likely aimed at confirming each could still follow his instructions, and that his repeated reasonable-doubt instruction addressed a standard some jurors find hard to apply. Boston Globe, September 3, 5:40 p.m.
• 17:49Boston post-conviction defense attorney David Nathanson told the Boston Globe he believed Sullivan should remove the holdout juror and seat an alternate, arguing that a juror unable to follow instructions is not qualified to serve and that doing so would not be a punishment but a way to keep the process fair. Boston Globe, September 3, 5:49 p.m.
• 18:01CNN quoted two legal analysts on the standoff: trial attorney Steven Vinick said the judge was "in a very, very difficult position" and that neither side wants a mistrial, while former federal prosecutor Berit Berger said removing a juror requires proof the juror is not following the law, not merely that the juror disagrees with the rest of the panel, since a lone holdout is consistent with the jury instructions. CNN, September 3, 6:01 p.m.
• 18:21Leaving the courthouse, Reddington went further than earlier in the day and described the substance of the jury's note itself, saying it indicated eleven jurors had reached a decision while the twelfth was not applying the reasonable-doubt standard as instructed. NBC News reported the same account and quoted him saying he wants Friday's proceedings open to the public. Fox News, September 3, 6:21 p.m.; NBC News, September 3.
• 18:42Speaking to reporters after court, Reddington said Sullivan would inquire into the jury issue at 9 a.m. Friday but that he did not yet know what the judge would ask, and that he expected the argument to happen in open court rather than at sidebar. Asked whether one juror was holding up the rest of the panel, he said, “It's basically that there's a person who has doubt but will not listen to the judge's instruction.” Fox News, September 3, 6:42 p.m.
• 19:36CNN laid out what would follow a mistrial, citing Boston defense attorney Elyse Hershon: prosecutors would not have to say immediately whether they intend to retry Clancy, who would return to Tewksbury State Hospital held without bail while the Commonwealth decided. That decision rests with Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz, who could also offer a plea to a lesser charge, and either side could seek a change of venue for a second trial. CNN, September 3, 7:36 p.m.
• 20:27CNN correspondent Jean Casarez told Anderson Cooper she had never seen a defense attorney accuse a juror of refusing to follow the law in any trial she has covered. She said removing the holdout juror would mean the jury restarting deliberations from scratch, and that a mistrial would effectively end the case, with Clancy free of the murder charges, though prosecutors would likely seek to keep her held at the state psychiatric facility. CNN, September 3, 8:27 p.m.
• 20:38The Boston Globe quoted criminal defense lawyer Jason Benzaken on the difficulty of Reddington's removal request: short of an outright admission from the dissenting juror, Sullivan would have a hard time telling whether the juror is truly refusing to follow the reasonable-doubt instruction or is simply being characterized that way by the rest of the panel. Benzaken noted any further inquiry cannot probe the substance of deliberations. Boston Globe, September 3, 8:38 p.m.
• 20:48CNN legal analyst Mark O'Mara told Erin Burnett that a judge questioning a single juror mid-deliberation, as Sullivan is expected to do Friday, is something he had never seen in his career: once sworn, a jury stops being twelve individuals and becomes one body meant to act as such. CNN, September 3, 8:48 p.m.