The mistrial declaration came after a defense petition to stop the judge from declaring the mistrial was denied by the top court in Massachusetts.
The mistrial, in the seventh day of deliberations, leaves the case unresolved and allows prosecutors to try Clancy again.
Earlier on Friday, Judge William Sullivan announced in court that jurors — now in their seventh day of deliberations — sent a third note saying they couldn't reach a unanimous decision on whether the Massachusetts mother is criminally responsible for killing her three young children in 2023.
The deliberations had taken a dramatic turn late in the week when the foreperson told the judge that a lone holdout was refusing to follow the court’s instructions about reasonable doubt. It offered a rare glimpse of the conflict inside the jury room and prompted Clancy’s attorney to demand the juror be kicked off the case.
The trial has generated intense interest for more than a month, deeply dividing the public and drawing attention to issues around maternal mental health after childbirth. Clancy’s attorney said she was suffering from a rare condition called postpartum psychosis when she strangled her kids, the youngest just 8 months old, then tried to take her own life.
