A look back on Lindsay Clancy's trial and the media's role

I'm Lisa Mullins in Boston. A warning. Our next story mentions violence toward Children. The Plymouth County District Attorney has the fate of accused murderer Lindsay Clancy in his hands. Timothy Cruz must decide whether to retry the case that ended Friday in a mistrial. Lindsay Clancy was charged with killing her three young Children at their home in Duxbury in 2023. Clancy admitted to the killing. Her defense attorney argued she was in the throes of postpartum psychosis. At the time, she reached out to everybody and anybody that would listen to it and kept saying, I am not good. I am not well and it was ignored. The prosecution claimed Clancy was thinking rationally and methodically plotted to kill her Children. She left them discarded on the basement floor like broken toys because she was done playing the game. Just after the killing, Clancy tried to take her life. She's now confined to a wheelchair. W. B. R. S. Deborah Becker covered the seven week trial and has been following the case from the start. We asked her to tell us about the experience. Hi, Deb. Hi, Lisa. So back in 2023 after the killings, you noted something during the arraignment that made you realize this case was not a standard criminal case. Tell us about that. Right at the arraignment, which Lindsay Clancy had to appear at virtually because she was hospitalized at the time, there were a few people in the courtroom who said that her case was about postpartum mental health. And I thought that was really interesting. Now, her attorney had raised the question about the medication she was taking at the time, but we certainly didn't know anywhere near the details about postpartum mental health that we later learned from this trial. And so it was as much a health story as a criminal story, I thought. So from the time the trial began to the time it ended, the case grew in coverage and the awareness of postpartum depression and how it manifests itself became the spotlight. That's right. I think it was hearing Lindsay Clancy's medical providers testify about the care she received that really drew a lot of attention. The defense here, as you mentioned, was arguing that she should not be held criminally responsible for killing her children because of her postpartum mental health. And so these providers testified that she repeatedly, that Clancy repeatedly sought help. She was prescribed 13 different medications in four months, and she wasn't getting the help she needed. She called suicide hotlines. She was hospitalized at McLean Hospital inpatient for five days, just three weeks before the killings. And I think that galvanized people to say, we don't feel like we are often heard in this system, or we didn't feel that we were heard when we were new mothers. And they thought that this trial was really showing the holes in the mental health care system, especially for new moms. And how did the prosecution respond to that? It was interesting because I would say the prosecution shifted gears. In the beginning, prosecutors said that Lindsay Clancy was a manipulative, controlling woman who wanted to end her life and was tired of it. By the end, by their closing arguments, they acknowledged that she had a serious mental illness and she was trying to get help. But they said she was still of rational mind and capable of carrying out these murders. So actually at the closing arguments, the prosecutor said, knowing that this case had galvanized so much attention, this isn't about the health care system or about the maternal health care system. This is about a murder case involving three young children. You were there when the 911 call was played. This is the call that went from Patrick Clancy, Lindsay Clancy's husband at the time, when he came home and looked for his wife, found her outside on the ground, and reported this. The jurors heard the tape, you heard the tape. It has not been released publicly. What was that day like? I will never forget that 911 call. It was so emotional of Patrick Clancy, Lindsay Clancy's former husband arriving home, finding her on the ground. He calls 911 and waits until the responders arrive. The dispatcher is telling him not to move her. You can hear her moaning. And then when the first responders arrive, he goes in the house. You hear him running. He's still got the phone on. And the howling, blood-curling scream that you hear from him when he discovers his children. I don't think there was a dry eye in the courtroom when that tape was played. And I think the judge was very wise to not release that because it would just be played over and over again, all over social media. What other moments were there that'll stay with you? I think seeing Lindsay Clancy's reaction was also really emotional. At times she would really sob. I think that will obviously always stay with me. But also the people who wanted to watch this trial, as the tension grew, the courtroom became full. The lines outside to get into the Plymouth courthouse, you had to get there about an hour and a half early if you were going to get in. And they turned people away who couldn't fit in the courtroom. The interest in it was unbelievable. People came from all over. Maine, people flew from Tennessee. They wanted to be at that courthouse. As the DA in Plymouth County decides whether to retry this case, what is he considering? What are the pressures in both directions? Well, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz has held that post for 25 years. He's known as a tough-on-crime prosecutor, and he's an elected prosecutor. He's up for election in November, running unopposed. But there are political considerations. And then there are considerations about this particular case. He claims that he started out by seeking first-degree murder charges because three children were violently killed. And he feels that he needs to seek justice for those children. And so I think he'll be considering that, but also considering the backlash of what's happened here. And he'll make a decision accordingly. If he decides to pursue lesser charges, say second-degree murder or manslaughter, they could waive a jury. Only first-degree murder requires a jury, so it could be heard before a judge. And a judge could then determine to send Lindsay Clancy to treatment instead of having to serve prison time. Deb Becker, senior correspondent for WBUR. Read her coverage at WBUR.org. Thanks a lot, Deb. You're welcome. If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline can be reached at 1-833-TLC-MAMA.