5 SEP 2026.
The Lindsay Clancy trial has ended in a mistrial after jurors returned to court Friday morning and reported that they remained hopelessly deadlocked following more than 40 hours of deliberations. It was the third time the jury had informed the court that it could not reach a unanimous verdict, bringing one of the most closely watched murder trials in Massachusetts to an extraordinary and unresolved conclusion.
Clancy stood trial for the first-degree murders of her three children, five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan. The central issue was not whether the children died at her hands, but whether Clancy was criminally responsible for those killings. Her defense argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and lacked the required legal capacity at the time.
The most dramatic development came when the jury disclosed that it was divided 11-1. According to the foreperson’s note, the lone holdout allegedly acknowledged having doubt about the case but was unwilling to apply the law concerning reasonable doubt in the manner urged by the other jurors. That disclosure immediately raised difficult questions about whether the court should intervene in the jury’s deliberative process.
The defense asked the judge to question the holdout juror. The judge refused, concluding that jury deliberations must remain the exclusive province of the jury itself. The panel was sent back to continue deliberating. The defense was then given an opportunity to appeal that ruling, but the appeal was denied.
Shortly before 2:30 Friday afternoon, the mistrial was formally declared.
The case now enters an entirely new phase. The prosecution must decide whether to bring Clancy to trial again. A mistrial caused by a hung jury generally permits prosecutors to retry the case, but that decision will require a serious evaluation of the first trial, the evidence presented, the jury’s lengthy deliberations and the reported 11-1 division.
A retrial would essentially mean starting over with a new jury. Both sides, however, would enter a second trial with one enormous advantage: they now know exactly how the first case was presented, where the arguments succeeded, where they failed and which issues proved most difficult for jurors. The mistrial ends this trial, but it does not necessarily end the prosecution.
Judge set to declare mistrial in Lindsay Clancy case after jury deadlocked again
Defense lawyer has asked for an hour to request emergency stay after jury deadlocked for third time
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I’m With Her brings exquisite three-part harmony to John Hiatt’s “Crossing Muddy Waters” at the 2025 Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival. Aoife O’Donovan, Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz treat the song with restraint, warmth and remarkable vocal precision, allowing its melancholy imagery to breathe. The performance feels intimate despite the festival setting, blending folk, bluegrass and Americana into something hauntingly beautiful. Their voices rise and fall together, turning Hiatt’s song into a devastating meditation on loss.
I’m With Her on John Hiatt’s “Crossing Muddy Waters” Grey Fox 2025
I’m With Her, featuring Aoife O’Donovan, Sara Watkins, and Sarah Jarosz performs John Hiatt’s “Crossing Muddy Waters” at Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival 2025. Brought to you by Less Than Face Productions. Audio by Bill K.