Why didn't Lindsay Clancy take a plea deal ahead of her murder trial? Her lawyer explains.
As the jury in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial continues to deliberate for a fifth day, one question looms over the case. Why didn't Clancy take a plea deal to avoid this trial?
The short answer is that prosecutors didn't offer one, according to her attorney.
Clancy is charged by a grand jury indictment with three counts of first-degree murder for the January 2023 strangulations of her children, Cora, Dawson and Callan. Clancy's lawyer claims she did so in a moment of postpartum psychosis, while responding to "command hallucinations."
A conviction of first-degree murder in Massachusetts carries with it a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. As a result, negotiating prison time or a reduced sentence for a first-degree murder charge is a legal impossibility.
The only option for a plea deal would be if prosecutors had offered Lindsay Clancy a deal to plead to a lesser charge.
A first-degree murder charge also mandates a jury trial. In contrast, when there are lesser charges, defendants have the choice of a "bench" trial in which a judge, not a jury, decides their guilt.
Clancy's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, called out Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz on Tuesday for indicting Clancy with first-degree murder and therefore mandating the need for a jury trial.
Speaking with WBZ-TV, Reddington said, "[Cruz has] got the indictments. I have no control over what Mr. Cruz or his assistants do with the indictments. Right now, it's three counts of first-degree murder. I cannot waive a jury. There's no plea bargaining, there's nothing."
He added, "Cruz wants his triple homicide convictions, consecutive life sentences with Lindsay. The judge can't do anything about it and I can't do anything about it."
Given that the jury recently indicated it was deadlocked, WBZ-TV asked Reddington about the possibility of a second trial. If Clancy's case ends in a mistrial due to a hung jury, the district attorney would have the discretion to retry the case with the same or different charges.
"If there was ever a retrial, if it ever got to that point, and [Cruz] bumped [the charges] down to second-degree [murder], would you ask for a bench trial?" Reddington was asked.
"I'd have to look at what evidence was left," he said. "Things would degrade over time, and we'd make that decision then."
The jury in Clancy's first trial has five options on its verdict slip. They can find her not guilty by reason of insanity, not guilty, or convict her of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter.
