Defense attorney Kevin Reddington asked the judge to dismiss a juror, arguing the jury foreperson sent the court a note Thursday indicating the juror admitted doubt but refused to join the rest of the jury in reaching a not guilty verdict.
WBUR · WBUR · September 4, 2026
The defense attorney for Lindsay Clancy will be allowed to send an emergency petition to the Supreme Judicial Court before the trial judge declares a mistrial.
Late Friday morning, Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan said he was going to declare a mistrial because jurors reported they were deadlocked. But before the jury returned to the courtroom, defense attorney Kevin Reddington asked for a stay to make an emergency appeal to the state Supreme Judicial Court.
Reddington said the law allows judges to poll jury members whether they were able to reach consensus on any of the charges, and that those verdicts be recorded.
"I'm asking the court to entertain asking jurors whether there has a been a decision on murder one, murder two, manslaughter or anything like that, and if that's the case, I would argue double jeopardy is attached and those charges cannot be prosecuted again," Reddington argued.
Prosecutors said they supported the mistrial declaration.
"We've had a jury who's been deliberating for six-and-a-half days who's come back on multiple occasions reporting that they're deadlocked," said assistant district attorney Jennifer Sprague. "I don't think anything else is required at this point other than the declaration of a mistrial at this point."
Reddington initially asked that jurors be told to resume deliberations, despite their third report of being deadlocked. Sullivan denied that request.
Earlier in the morning, deliberations resumed with the same jurors for a seventh day in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial after a contentious hearing on whether to remove one juror.
The jury is considering whether to convict Clancy, 36, on charges of murdering her three children or find that her mental state made her not criminally responsible for their killings in 2023.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington asked the judge to dismiss a juror, arguing the jury foreperson sent the court a note Thursday indicating the juror admitted doubt but refused to join the other 11 jury members in reaching a not guilty verdict.
"This person will not apply reasonable doubt to the evidence to return a not guilty verdict," Reddington said.
Reddington said the court received two notes about the holdout juror. Reddington suggested the unidentified juror was not truthful with the judge when each of the 12 jurors were questioned Thursday about a note from the jury's foreperson indicating one juror was preventing the jury from coming to a unanimous verdict.
"I know we try to protect and preserve the sanctity of the jury," Reddington said. "But when you have a situation where you have not one, but two notes that indicate that this individual has acknowledged doubt but refuses to apply it to the verdict as the law states, he is not being honest," Reddington said.
Prosecutors said Friday morning that case law suggests that further questioning of the jurors is not necessary and asked that deliberations resume.
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague said jurors should not be discharged unless there are extreme circumstances, such as a personal emergency.
"There is no indication of impartiality or bias or refusal to deliberate," Sprague said. "What we have here is a note that indicates a disagreement about how to weigh the evidence, and that's deliberation."
Judge William Sullivan said he would bring the jury back into the courtroom. He then reminded them that they have to "follow the law whether they like it or not."
He also agreed with a prosecution request to ask jurors not to reveal the status of deliberations in notes to the court.
The jury resumed deliberations about 9:30 a.m.
This article was originally published on September 04, 2026.
Deborah Becker is a senior correspondent and host at WBUR. Her reporting focuses on mental health, criminal justice and education.