What was the verdict in Commonwealth v. Lindsay Clancy?

No verdict as of Aug 31, 2026. Trial ran July 29 – Aug 28, 2026 in Plymouth Superior Court. Jury began deliberations Aug 28 and is still deliberating. Possible outcomes: guilty, manslaughter, or not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility (McHoul).

What is the McHoul standard?

Under Commonwealth v. McHoul, 352 Mass. 544 (1967), a person is not criminally responsible if, as a result of mental disease or defect, they lacked substantial capacity to appreciate wrongfulness or conform conduct to law. Burden on Commonwealth beyond reasonable doubt.

Where can I watch the trial?

Each of the 14 transcript pages links its YouTube court recording via Court TV / Law&Crime / PBS NewsHour. No Rev.com paywall. See /transcripts and /media.

Lindsay Clancy Trial: What to Know About the Insanity Defense

Source: FindLaw / Northeastern University

URL: https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/courtside/postpartum-psychosis-analyzing-the-trial-of-the-massachusetts-woman-who-killed-her-three-children

Status: Original article blocked by Cloudflare protection - content below from Northeastern University coverage

Key Facts

Lindsay Clancy, 35, is on trial in Plymouth Superior Court in Brockton, Massachusetts, on three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her three young children, who were found dead in their home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in 2023.

The children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan — were discovered by first responders on Jan. 24, 2023, at the family's Duxbury home after Patrick Clancy returned from picking up takeout and medication during an errand prosecutors say lasted about 15 minutes. Prosecutors allege Lindsay Clancy strangled the children with exercise bands before jumping from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt that left her paralyzed from the waist down.

Postpartum Mental Health

At the heart of the case is the issue of postpartum mental health, an often stigmatized and underrecognized set of conditions afflicting many women shortly after childbirth.

Postpartum depression affects an estimated 10% to 20% of people after childbirth

Symptoms can include persistent sadness, poor concentration, anxiety, sleep disturbances, irritability, reduced pleasure, delayed reactions, psychomotor agitation and impaired mother-infant interactions

Postpartum psychosis is far rarer — about 1 to 2 cases per 1,000 births (0.1% to 0.2%)

Unlike postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis is considered a psychiatric emergency and can involve hallucinations, delusions and a break from reality

Massachusetts Insanity Defense

In Massachusetts, the insanity defense may apply when a person's mental condition prevents them from understanding or controlling their actions at the time of an alleged crime, including during an episode of psychosis. A qualifying mental disease or defect also need not fit a specific medical diagnosis.

Burden of Proof

In many jurisdictions, insanity is an affirmative defense, meaning the burden falls on the defense

In Massachusetts, the prosecution carries the burden — prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was criminally responsible

This is different from most states where the defendant must prove the defense

Key Legal Question

Massachusetts doesn't have a specific list of qualifying conditions and leaves the determination largely to jurors, who must decide whether a defendant's mental defect impaired their cognitive capacity or ability to control their actions at the time of the alleged crime.

That broad discretion could prove especially significant in Clancy's trial, where jurors will ultimately decide whether the defense has raised sufficient evidence that postpartum psychosis deprives her of criminal responsibility — and whether prosecutors have met their burden of proving otherwise.