Lindsay Clancy trial: Jury deliberations are underway

Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague told jurors in her closing argument that Lindsay Clancy misled and jumped between medical providers because "she wanted to get better on her own terms."

Sprague also highlighted Clancy’s work experience as a labor and delivery nurse to argue she should have known better.

"She knows as a nurse the importance of following the instructions of your medications. She knows how important it is to follow the plan and do what's on the bottle and do what your provider tells you and to give that accurate information to your provider," she said.

Pushing back on the suggestion that the trial is a referendum on the healthcare system, Sprague argued that Clancy had better-than-average access to medical care but did not properly use it.

The prosecution just began its closing argument after defense attorney Kevin Reddington finished his.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington began his closing argument by showing the jury two photos – a happy image of the entire Clancy family next to a photo of severely-injured Lindsay Clancy on a hospital bed following her suicide attempt.

He argued that Clancy repeatedly sought help from the medical system, but that she was overmedicated and misdiagnosed.

Speaking toward the prosecution, Reddington accused them of furthering Clancy’s suffering by suggesting her suicide attempt was not serious, scrutinizing her medical records, and having experts question her state of mind. Judge William Sullivan at one point reminded Reddington to talk to the jurors.

Reddington also highlighted the evidence and testimony they presented to show that Clancy was a caring mother, suggesting she had no motive to kill her children.

“This young lady did nothing wrong in her life. She was a nurse, a daughter, a wife, and a darn good mother,” Reddington said in his closing.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington has begun his closing argument.

Before closing began, Judge William Sullivan instructed the jury how to view the law in the case.

Sullivan told jurors that Lindsay Clancy is "not criminally responsible for her conduct if she has a mental disease or defect, and as a result of that mental disease or defect, she lacks the substantial capacity, either to appreciate the criminality or wrongfulness of her conduct, or to conform her conduct to the requirements of the law."

Jurors were told that the burden is on prosecutors to prove that Clancy was not suffering from a "mental disease or defect" so severe she could not tell the difference between right and wrong.

If Clancy is found "not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility," she would be sent to a state psychiatric facility until it is deemed she “is no longer mentally ill and dangerous," Sullivan told the jury.

Sullivan ended his jury instruction by telling the jurors about the lesser included offense of manslaughter.

The judge also instructed the jury how to consider whatever impairment may have been caused by Clancy’s mental illness of the medications she was prescribed.