How Patrick Clancy's "60 Minutes" interview could impact potential Lindsay Clancy retrial

Patrick Clancy, the former husband of Lindsay Clancy, sat down with "60 Minutes" for his first television interview, which aired on Sunday. A legal analyst told CBS Boston there is a chance the interview could have an impact on the Massachusetts woman's potential second trial.

Lindsay Clancy stood trial for the 2023 killings of her children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan, in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Patrick Clancy testified at the trial, which ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. He became the target of widespread social media conspiracy theories, alleging that he was somehow involved in the deaths of his children.

Lindsay Clancy's defense attorney Kevin Reddington has admitted that she killed the children, but says she did so because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. 

Patrick Clancy's "60 Minutes" interview

In the Sunday interview, Patrick Clancy sat alongside his wife, Dr. Rachel Danis. Patrick and Lindsay Clancy were married at the time of the killings, but later divorced.  

"I think that Patrick Clancy presented very similar to how he did at trial. Same mannerisms, same demeanor, he seemed forthright and honest in this interview. But I also felt like there were some things that we wanted to know more about, particularly because he was married to Lindsay Clancy at the time. These were his children as well," WBZ-TV legal analyst Jennifer Roman said. "There was a little bit more I think that we wanted to hear about that we didn't hear about, and I think that sort of left a lot of people wanting more and wanting to hear more from him."

In particular, Roman said she wished Patrick Clancy had expanded more on his ex-wife's mental health struggles.

"One of the areas that definitely struck me as lacking is when he talked about Lindsay's mental health, he didn't mention anything about a hallucination or a commanding voice," Roman said. "That may have been an oversight, that wasn't on his mind, but that was such a focus of the trial that I thought that was interesting we didn't hear anything about that."

How will Patrick Clancy interview impact case?

Patrick Clancy told "60 Minutes" that his ex-wife has never asked for forgiveness, but added that he gave it to her.

Roman was asked if the interview could have an impact on Plymouth District Attorney Tim Cruz as he weighs whether or not to retry the case.

"In the court of public opinion, the father of these children, Lindsay Clancy's former husband, is coming out saying he forgives her and seemingly reluctant to have to do this again as one would expect," she said. "You have to wonder if that is going to impact DA Cruz's decision when the victims' families don't want to go forward. Does the DA's office continue to prosecute?"

Lindsay Clancy's trial drew interest from around the world. Roman said Patrick Clancy speaking out could brighten the spotlight on the case, and make it more difficult to find jurors who are not aware of the case.

"The more press and publicity this case gets, and as we've seen it's getting coverage around the world. This is no longer a Massachusetts case," Roman said. "This is being projected around the world. The more people hear about this, the more people talk about this, the more interviews Patrick Clancy does for national news organizations, the harder it's going to be to find a juror who's never heard of this case."

Roman was asked if she believes Reddington would consider allowing Lindsay Clancy to participate in an interview of her own.

"He won't. When this is over, however it ends, I'm sure she will speak and she will have her say. But not before then. He can't," Roman said. "If she was to speak now, she has given up her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. So he's not going to put her in that situation, he's going to protect her from that."

The next hearing in Lindsay Clancy's case is scheduled for Sept. 29.