<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The defense attorney for Lindsay Clancy, who is accused of killing her three children, has requested that the judge dismiss a juror who allegedly "refuses to listen" to the instructions regarding reasonable doubt.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Massachusetts Superior Court Judge William Sullivan sent jurors home after their sixth day of deliberations, having spoken with each juror individually. Clancy's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, addressed the judge and requested the removal of the holdout juror.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Reddington stated that the foreperson had informed the judge that the juror in question "refuses to listen to the law that you’ve given him or her on reasonable doubt." He argued that the judge's inquiry about whether jurors could "listen to the law as I instruct you" was insufficient to address the issue with the juror.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“It does not allow any foundation for a motion to remove the juror who refuses to accept your instructions on the law on reasonable doubt, and if we come back here in a half an hour with a mistrial because of a juror that has just spurned the instructions of this court, it’s a shame,” Reddington said. “It’s a real shame, and that’s why I object to the court’s ruling.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The prosecution indicated to Sullivan that it had no objections to the judge's questions.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sullivan remarked that dismissing a juror is a "sensitive undertaking" and noted that he would consider Reddington's objection. He stated, “I don’t feel it’s appropriate for me to say I agree with one juror or the left. At this point, I’ve asked if they are able to follow my instructions, according to what they swore earlier that they could. They’ve said at this point that they can.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani commented that Reddington’s remarks might indicate a desire to remove the juror who is aligned with the prosecution.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The reason Reddington went crazy, he thinks he can get a not criminally responsible. He smells blood in the water,” Rahmani said.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rahmani added that a juror not adhering to the rule on reasonable doubt could reflect the jury's overall mindset, which Reddington seems to recognize.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“There’s one juror that’s not following the law on reasonable doubt,” Rahmani said. “Reasonable doubt helps the defense. Reddington goes crazy, tries to remove the juror. The judge says no. He senses a defense verdict, which is why he did what he did.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jurors are scheduled to return on Friday morning for their seventh day of deliberations. Based on discussions from Thursday, it appears the jury is deadlocked at 11-1, consisting of nine women and three men.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Clancy is accused of strangling her three children in their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in 2023 using exercise resistance bands. Clancy’s attorneys do not dispute the murders but are pursuing an insanity defense, arguing that she was in a postpartum psychotic state at the time of the crime.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If found guilty, Clancy faces a potential life sentence. However, if the jury finds her not guilty by reason of insanity, she would be committed to a state mental health institution.</p>