Lindsay Clancy. What should the verdict be?

Two primary principles gird today’s blog: (1) we will focus on what we know is true, and (2) we will resist making the uncertain certain…

In January of 2023, Lindsay Clancy, a 36 year old, Massachusetts mother, killed her three children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan, strangling each with an exercise band. She then jumped from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt, suffering catastrophic injuries and paralysis from the waist down. Her husband, Patrick, who had been sent out by Lindsay for food and medication that night, returned home to find his wife outside after the fall and his children dead or near death in their basement.

Lindsay was charged with three counts of first-degree murder. She pleaded “not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.” On Friday, after a five week trial and seven days of jury deliberations, a mistrial was declared. For both the jury and the increasingly watching general public, it was difficult to discern what a just verdict should be.

Lindsay does not deny that she was physically responsible for the killings, but she contends she was not criminally responsible because she was experiencing postpartum psychosis. In other words, Lindsay contends she did not commit a crime.

So for clarity of discussion, let’s define a few key phrases…

not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility (according to Massachusetts legal standards) — having a mental disease or defect at the time of the crime, and because of that condition, lacking substantial capacity either to (1) appreciate that what they were doing was wrong/criminal, or (2) to conform their conduct to the law.

postpartum psychosis — a rare but extremely serious psychiatric condition that can occur after childbirth, involving a loss of contact with reality, usually developing rapidly within days or weeks after delivery. Such can cause a person to experience things that aren't actually happening or to develop beliefs that aren't based in reality.

postpartum depression (not the same as psychosis) — profound sadness, hopelessness, anxiety, guilt, difficulty bonding with the baby, and sometimes thoughts of suicide or harming oneself.

Note the difference between the latter two: psychosis means reality is impaired. It is possible for a woman to experience both psychosis and depression, while again, psychosis is indeed rare.

The central question in the Clancy case is this: when Lindsay Clancy killed her children, did her mental condition prevent her from meaningfully understanding the moral and/or legal wrongfulness?

What adds to the troubling nature of this case — in addition to the intentional killing of the innocent — is some of the fervid response of the public. So many feel so passionately that they so know what Lindsay was thinking when she did what she did. Remember: the question isn’t intent; it’s comprehension of the iniquity. Did she know it was wrong when she sent her husband away before she did what she did?

Many more insist responsibility does not rest most with Lindsay, regardless of intent. Her husband, medical team, the healthcare system and perceived lack of support for new mothers — all have been targeted and received loud criticism for the role they played in this tragedy. Sometimes we intermix responsibility and contribution.

And so many of us with understandably obvious compassion or calls for justice (which aren’t necessarily in competition with one another) believe we know exactly what the verdict or exact consequences should be. Let’s add one caveat — with absolutely all due respect. Passionate as we may be, our individual experience, valid as it is, never serves as an accurate barometer to measure all others' morality.

Hence, here’s the little I know for sure… 

What Lindsay did was evil. That’s not unkind nor judgmental. The simplest definition of evil is the absence of God. There is no way the God we serve, the masterful Creator of all humankind, validated the killing of those sweet young children.

Is Lindsay well? Obviously, no. She didn’t get the help she needed. Is that the help’s fault? … her fault? … her husband’s fault? Really hard to tell from so far away, but no doubt all played a role. What she shared with whom when matters. Yet since she is the one who wrapped the cord around each neck, sadly, she is most responsible.

That does not mean she should/should not be sentenced to three counts of first-degree murder. That I cannot contend. I wonder, especially after the mistrial, if it may have been wiser to pursue a lesser charge, one still with unquestionable apt, ample, decades long consequences. Regardless of her comprehension, regardless of the failure to assess and act of those around her, there are just, grave consequences for what she did. 

It’s thus hard for me to land with certainty on any singular, right outcome. Hence, I pray for wisdom and justice in what legally happens next, for deep mental and spiritual help for Lindsay, and for Cora, Dawson and Callan to rest in eternal, heavenly peace.

Soberly…

AR