Lindsay Clancy is on trial for the deaths of her three children in Duxbury, Massachusetts in January 2023. She was charged with murder and attempted murder after the deaths; her defense has argued postpartum psychosis rendered her not criminally responsible for her actions. The case has drawn significant public attention because of its specific intersection of maternal mental health, criminal responsibility, and the medical understanding of postpartum mental illness.

THE DEADLOCK  

The jury has notified the judge twice that they are deadlocked, with deliberations now entering their sixth consecutive day. A deadlocked jury — one that cannot reach a unanimous verdict — has reported its impasse to the judge twice. Twice is significant: the first report of deadlock produces a judge’s ‘Allen charge’ or ‘dynamite charge’ instructing jurors to reconsider their positions; the second report tests whether additional deliberation has resolved the impasse.

WHAT THE JUDGE CAN DO  

At the point of a second deadlock report, the judge has several options:

▸  Another Allen charge: ordering jurors to continue deliberating with additional instruction to attempt to reach agreement

▸  Partial verdict instruction: asking whether the jury can reach a verdict on any specific charges even if not all

▸  Mistrial declaration: declaring the trial a mistrial due to jury deadlock; this does not acquit the defendant but ends the current trial; the prosecution may retry the case

▸  Continued deliberation: simply ordering the jury to continue without additional instruction

THE POSTPARTUM PSYCHOSIS DEFENSE  

The specific legal and scientific question at the center of this case: whether postpartum psychosis can produce criminal behavior for which the defendant is not legally responsible. The defense has argued Clancy did not understand the nature or wrongfulness of her actions at the time because of postpartum psychosis. The prosecution has contested this on the specific facts of the case. The jury’s inability to reach a verdict after six days suggests the jurors are genuinely divided on how to apply the criminal responsibility standard to the specific medical evidence.

Six days. Two deadlock reports. The jury is divided. The question they cannot agree on is whether postpartum psychosis made Lindsay Clancy criminally not responsible for what happened to her children. That is a question law and medicine are both still trying to answer.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT  

▸  Judge’s decision — whether to give another Allen charge, declare a mistrial, or order continued deliberation

▸  Verdict or mistrial — the outcome of the judge’s next instruction

▸  Retrial — if mistrial declared, whether prosecutors choose to retry

CONFIDENCE: HIGH

Lindsay Clancy jury twice notified judge of deadlock, sixth day deliberations are from CBS News confirmed reporting. Case background (Duxbury, three children, postpartum psychosis defense) is from established public record.

SOURCES

▸  CBS News — Lindsay Clancy jury deadlocked sixth day, September 4, 2026