Gayle King Reacts After Clancy Juror Reveals Lone Holdout Was a Black Man

Gayle King Reacts With Surprise After Clancy Juror Reveals Lone Holdout Was a Black Man

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

A juror from Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial told “CBS Mornings” Friday that the lone juror who prevented a unanimous finding of no criminal responsibility was a Black man, prompting Gayle King to respond, “Whoa, I have to just sit with that for a second.”

Paula Devlin, one of the 12 jurors who heard the closely watched Massachusetts case, appeared on “CBS Mornings” to discuss the deliberations that ultimately ended in a mistrial.

Clancy was tried in connection with the deaths of her three young children, with the central question at trial focusing on whether she was criminally responsible for her actions because of her mental condition at the time.

Eleven jurors were prepared to find Clancy not criminally responsible, but one juror disagreed, preventing the panel from reaching the unanimous verdict required and forcing the judge to declare a mistrial.

During Friday’s interview, King asked Devlin about the demographic makeup of the jury.

Devlin said the jurors ranged in age from approximately 22 to their 70s and indicated that three members of the panel were men. She also said the lone holdout was a Black man, while the other 11 jurors were white.

King immediately focused on that detail.

“Is the holdout juror a black man?” King asked.

“Yes,” Devlin replied.

“A black man is the holdout juror? Whoa, I have to just sit with that for a second,” King responded.

The mistrial left Clancy’s case unresolved after weeks of testimony about her mental health and the deaths of her children.

Her defense maintained that she was suffering from severe mental illness and was not criminally responsible when she killed the children, while prosecutors argued that she retained the ability to understand the wrongfulness of her actions.

Because Massachusetts requires a unanimous jury verdict, the disagreement of a single juror was sufficient to prevent the panel from reaching a final decision.

Devlin’s appearance Friday offered a rare public glimpse into the composition of the jury and the division that produced the mistrial, while King’s reaction to the racial identity of the lone holdout quickly became one of the interview’s most notable moments.