Christopher R. Decker provided live legal analysis four times during the week of September 1, 2026 as the Lindsay Clancy murder trial in Massachusetts moved from a deadlocked jury to a mistrial. He walked viewers through the extraordinary disclosure that one juror would not follow the court’s instructions on reasonable doubt, the defense’s last-minute appeal to the state’s highest court, and what a hung jury means for a case that is now headed back toward trial.
Christopher R. Decker, managing partner at The Law Offices of Decker & Jones, appeared live on 9NEWS four times during the week of September 1, 2026 to provide legal analysis as jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial deadlocked and the case ended in a mistrial. He joined the station on Tuesday, September 1 at 7:10 a.m. and again at 10 a.m., on Thursday, September 3 at 7:10 a.m., and on Friday, September 4 at 3:10 p.m.
The case
Lindsay Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, was charged with murder in the January 24, 2023 strangling deaths of her three young children — Cora, Dawson and Callan. Her attorney, Kevin Reddington, did not dispute that she killed them. The trial in Plymouth Superior Court turned instead on whether she was criminally responsible at the time, with the defense arguing she was in the grip of postpartum psychosis and prosecutors arguing she was in control of her actions.
Seven days of deliberations
Jurors began deliberating after closing arguments on August 27. On Tuesday, September 1, they reported that they could not reach a unanimous decision, and Judge William Sullivan sent them back to keep working.
On Thursday, September 3, the jury’s foreperson delivered a note telling the judge that a single juror would not follow the court’s instructions on reasonable doubt. Reddington asked Sullivan to dismiss that juror. Prosecutors objected, and the judge declined.
“I don’t feel it is proper for me to side with one side or the other of the deliberations. I don’t feel it’s appropriate for me to say, ‘I agree with one juror or the 11.’ I have asked if they are able to follow my instructions. They swore earlier that they could.”
A last-minute appeal, then a mistrial
On Friday morning, September 4, the jury sent a third note. “It is with a heavy heart that we report we are unable to come to a unanimous decision and will not be able to,” Sullivan read aloud in court.
Reddington asked for a recess so he could petition the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court for a stay of the mistrial declaration — a request legal observers described as almost unheard of. Sullivan gave the defense one hour. The petition did not change the outcome, and the judge declared the jury deadlocked and the trial a mistrial after seven days of deliberations.
What a hung jury actually means
A mistrial on a deadlocked jury is not an acquittal, and it is not a win in the ordinary sense. Because the first trial ended without a verdict, double jeopardy does not bar a second one. The charges remain live, and the prosecution has three realistic paths: retry the case, dismiss it, or negotiate a resolution.
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said outside the courthouse that his office would not announce a decision that day. Judge Sullivan scheduled a status hearing for September 29 and indicated he wanted any second trial to happen in the fall.
Colorado works the same way on this point. A criminal verdict here must be unanimous, a jury that cannot get there produces a mistrial rather than an acquittal, and the district attorney then decides whether to try the case again. For a defendant, that means the period after a hung jury is not the end of the fight — it is often the most important window in the case, and the one where the record built at the first trial matters most.
If you are facing serious criminal charges in Colorado, or have questions about what a mistrial or hung jury means for your case, call our office at 303-573-5253.
Source: 9NEWS