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.

MA Model Jury Instructions - Lack of Criminal Responsibility

Source: Massachusetts Courts

URL: https://www.mass.gov/doc/9200-lack-of-criminal-responsibility/download

Status: PDF blocked by mass.gov (403 Forbidden) - content summarized from related sources

Overview

The Massachusetts Model Jury Instructions on Lack of Criminal Responsibility (Instruction 9.200) define the legal standard for insanity defense in Massachusetts.

Key Legal Standard (Commonwealth v. McHoul)

A person is not criminally responsible if, at the time of committing the act, they were suffering from a mental disease or defect which resulted in either:

1. Lack of substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of their conduct, OR

2. Lack of substantial capacity to conform their conduct to the requirements of the law

Important Points

Burden of Proof: In Massachusetts, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was criminally responsible once the defense is properly raised

Mental Disease or Defect: Must be a qualifying condition - not merely character defects, impulse control disorders, or voluntary intoxication

"Wrongfulness": The defendant need not know their act was illegal, only that it was morally wrong

Moral Wrongfulness: The standard asks whether the defendant knew the act was wrong by society's moral standards

Related Legal Authority

Commonwealth v. McHoul, 352 Mass. 544 (1967)

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 123, Section 16

Model Jury Instructions (Criminal) 9.200

Notes

The full PDF of the model jury instructions could not be downloaded due to access restrictions on mass.gov. The above summary is based on publicly available information about the Massachusetts insanity defense standard.