Lindsay Clancy's Jury Heard a Rule That Flips the Entire Case

Most people following the Lindsay Clancy trial assume the defense has to prove she was insane. Massachusetts law says the opposite. Once the defense raises mental illness, the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Clancy was criminally responsible when she strangled Cora, Dawson, and Callan on January 24, 2023. That burden does not shift back.

Defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis walks through the legal standard this jury was handed and why it matters. The McHoul test requires the Commonwealth to prove two things — that Clancy could appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions and that she could conform her conduct to the law. Fail on either, and she is not criminally responsible. The standard says mental disease or defect. It does not require a diagnosis of psychosis.

Dr. Avram Mack, the prosecution's own rebuttal psychiatrist, told this jury Clancy had a severe depressive episode. He stopped short of psychosis. The legal question is whether that distinction matters under a test that never uses the word.

Faddis also covers the mechanics of deliberation — how jurors choose a foreperson, how holdouts shape the conversation, and how long a judge allows a deadlocked jury to continue before stepping in. The Tuey-Rodriguez instruction is a last-resort tool Massachusetts judges use to push past an impasse. In the Karen Read case, it did not work.

This jury heard from 84 witnesses across 21 days of testimony. What they do with it begins after closing arguments Thursday.

Listen Anywhere You Get Podcasts: https://pod.link/1655749292

Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod?sub_confirmation=1

Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod

This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

#LindsayClancy #LindsayClancyTrial #HiddenKillers #JuryDeliberation #CriminalResponsibility #InsanityDefense #PostpartumPsychosis #TrueCrimePodcast #TrueCrime #MassachusettsMurderTrial