Jurors told the judge Tuesday they could not reach a unanimous verdict. He sent them back to keep trying.
The jury weighing charges against Lindsay Clancy, the Duxbury mother accused of killing her three young children, told the court Tuesday it could not reach a unanimous verdict after four days of deliberations, according to multiple outlets covering the trial. Rather than declare a mistrial, the judge sent jurors back to continue deliberating — a standard step courts typically take at least once before considering ending a trial without a verdict.
The Washington Post and CNN both confirmed the deadlock was reported on the fourth day of deliberations. No new verdict announcement had been made as of this writing.
A deadlocked jury doesn't automatically mean a mistrial. Judges routinely instruct jurors to keep working through their disagreements before accepting that a unanimous decision isn't possible. If deliberations ultimately fail, the judge can declare a mistrial — which would not resolve the case. Prosecutors would then decide whether to retry Clancy before a new jury, negotiate a plea, or, in rarer cases, drop the charges.
WECU News will update this story as developments occur.
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