Here’s another expanded straight-news version, with the legal problem surrounding the pardon request made clear:
Lindsay Clancy’s defense attorney says he hopes prosecutors will reconsider their approach to the Massachusetts mother’s triple-murder case after a mistrial—and is even appealing to President Donald Trump for help despite acknowledging that the president cannot legally pardon his client on state charges.
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Attorney Kevin Reddington made the unusual public plea Tuesday during an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” four days after Clancy’s six-week murder trial ended with a deadlocked jury.
“Mr. President, I would hope that you would consider this young lady, the type of person she is, what she’s been through, and consider a pardon,” Reddington said.
Clancy, 36, remains charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the January 2023 deaths of her children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months — at the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
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She has not denied to strangling the children with exercise bands before jumping from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt.
Instead, her defense argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions. Prosecutors disputed that claim, arguing that Clancy deliberately planned the killings and understood what she was doing.
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Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial Sept. 4 after jurors deliberated for nearly 40 hours over seven days without reaching a unanimous verdict.
According to a note from the jury foreperson cited after the trial, the panel was split 11-1. Reddington has said the lone holdout prevented what he believes would otherwise have been a verdict favorable to Clancy.
With the first trial now over, Reddington appears increasingly interested in avoiding another one.
He said Tuesday that he hopes Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz will reconsider the prosecution’s position after seeing how the evidence was received by the first jury.
“I’m willing to listen to Tim,” Reddington said, noting that he has known Cruz for approximately 30 years.
“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 and hopefully would be able to work something out that would be acceptable to both sides.”
Before the mistrial, Reddington had said prosecutors were unwilling to negotiate a resolution and instead wanted first-degree murder convictions.
Cruz has not announced whether his office will retry Clancy. Following the mistrial, he said there would be no immediate decision and emphasized that his office remained focused on seeking justice for the three children. The case is scheduled to return to court for a status hearing Sept. 29.
Reddington’s appeal to Trump adds another unusual element to an already extraordinary case.
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Trump publicly acknowledged Friday that he had been following the trial, telling reporters that television coverage made the case difficult to avoid.
“It’s a terrible situation,” Trump said, describing what Clancy did as “horrible” and suggesting that the eventual outcome could involve either incarceration or confinement in a mental-health institution.
But Trump cannot grant Clancy a presidential pardon.
The Constitution gives presidents authority to pardon “Offences against the United States,” meaning federal crimes. Clancy is being prosecuted under Massachusetts law, putting her case outside the president’s constitutional clemency authority.
Reddington acknowledged that limitation after his television appearance.
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Asked by WBZ-TV why he sought a presidential pardon when Trump lacked jurisdiction over the state case, Reddington said his real goal was to enlist Trump’s influence.
“The goal is pretty simple. It’s to seek help from Trump,” Reddington said.
He suggested that if Trump believed the circumstances warranted intervention, the president could potentially contact Cruz and urge him to reconsider how the prosecution moves forward.
“Even though legally it’s not a federal case, he certainly has an awful lot of clout,” Reddington said.
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Reddington also made clear that his willingness to discuss a negotiated resolution has limits.
“I would not plead Lindsay Clancy to a day in jail,” he told WBZ-TV, maintaining his position that mental illness rather than criminal intent was responsible for the killings.
For now, Clancy remains charged and continues to be held at a state psychiatric hospital.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
