Lindsay Clancy trial: Judge declares mistrial after emergency request denied

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz defended his prosecution of Clancy after Judge Sullivan declared a mistrial moments earlier, following seven days of jury deadlock. Cruz said the evidence and the law merited first-degree murder charges.

"Children were murdered, and it's our job to seek justice," Cruz said outside court. "This is a case of three children who died a violent death at the hands of the person who was supposed to love them the most."

He called the online treatment of the trial prosecutors, Buckingham and Sprague, "disgusting," noting they are both mothers themselves.

He lamented that "criminals are being treated as victims, and victims are invisible."

Cruz declined to announce an immediate decision about retrying Clancy.

The comments come moments after Sullivan declared a mistrial, following a decision by a single Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court justice denying the defense's emergency stay petition, which asked the court to compel the jury to continue deliberations or remove a lone holdout it claimed was biased against the defendant.

The judge set a date of Sept. 29 to determine next steps.

Sullivan has declared a mistrial after the jury said repeatedly it was unable to reach a verdict.

The decision comes after a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court declined to impose an emergency stay filed by Clancy's defense attorney.

"I'm going to declare the jury is deadlocked, and I'm going to declare a mistrial," Sullivan said.

One juror appeared upset and put her head in her hands. Others look frustrated or defeated.

Reddington asked again for Sullivan to inquire of the holdout juror, but the judge declined.

A single justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard brief oral arguments Friday on the defense request for emergency intervention.

The justice quickly adjourned the hearing to make a decision.

Clancy's attorney, Reddington, argued intervention is necessary to avoid a mistrial.

"It is also necessary to preserve the Defendant's right to a fair trial by unbiased jurors applying the law and to avoid violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments and Article 114, which makes mental illness a protected category," the defense motion stated.

The defense motion for emergency intervention was devoid of case law that would establish precedent for what Reddington is asking for. Instead he wants the state's highest court to step in to "preserve the integrity of the court system."

Reddington faulted the judge overseeing Clancy's trial, Sullivan.  

"The Superior Court has abdicated its responsibility to ensure the integrity of the jury by refusing either to inquire further or to dismiss the juror who is refusing to consider doubt as the law states," Reddington's motion stated.  

He also faulted the juror, saying their refusal to apply any doubts they have acknowledged during deliberations reflects "a bias against those who suffer from debilitating mental illness."

Prosecutors have argued Sullivan properly exercised his discretion to declare the mistrial after seven days of deadlock.