Summary

  • The judge in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial orders the jury to keep deliberating on Friday after tense exchanges in court - what just happened?

  • Clancy is accused of murdering her three small children in Massachusetts in 2023 - she does not dispute killing them, but her lawyer argues she had postpartum psychosis

  • In a dramatic moment, Clancy's lawyer asks the judge to remove one juror who he says isn't following the judge's instructions - watch the moment

  • But the judge rejects the request after the prosecution argues, "there's no way to determine what the deliberations are, who's correct, who's incorrect, nor should we attempt to"

  • Just beforehand, Clancy's lawyer slammed down papers during a tense discussion with the judge - our reporter was in the room

  • Warning: This page contains distressing details

Media caption,
Watch: Defence calls for one juror to be dismissed
  1. Clancy's lawyer emphatic during talks with the judgepublished at 21:26 BST

    Ana Faguy
    Reporting from court in Massachusetts

    I'm sitting here now reflecting on the moment when we learned from defence lawyer Kevin Reddington, that there was a single member of the jury who was holding out.

    It's the first clue we've gotten into the deliberations since they began last week.

    During the lawyers' private discussions with the judge, we knew something was up because Reddington became very animated, he shuffled papers around and he took his glasses off.

    He went back to the table where Clancy was seated and appeared to explain the situation to her, he got very close to her face and whispered to her. It almost reminded me of a sports coach speaking to a player.

    When Reddington got to the podium in the courtroom and addressed the judge - asking for that singule juror to be removed - he kept his hand on the podium and used what I would describe as a commanding voice.

    There were some whispers among reporters - it was a shocking moment - but otherwise it was pretty quiet in the room.

  2. Clancy's family looks tired leaving courtpublished at 21:14 BST

    Ana Faguy
    Reporting from court in Massachusetts

    I'm back in the hallway again and most of the reporters walking by me are in disbelief that we're here without a verdict.

    As I was walking out I caught a glimpse of Clancy's family, her parents and sister have been here all week. They looked tired, their heads were bowed.

    They like many of us, will be back again tomorrow.

  3. Jury appears to have mixed reactions after being dismissedpublished at 21:12 BST

    Ana Faguy
    Reporting from court in Massachusetts

    As the judge says he's sending the jury home, one older female juror closes her eyes for an extended period. A male juror appears to laugh.

    They then all walk out of the room.

  4. Judge sends the jury homepublished at 21:09 BST
    Breaking

    Ana Faguy
    Reporting from court in Massachusetts

    Judge William Sullivan has ended court for the day. The dismissal comes shortly after he told the jury for the third time to continue deliberations.

    He says they will reconvene on Friday morning.

  5. Wait, what just happened?published at 21:06 BST

    Sakshi Venkatraman
    US reporter

    It's been a very chaotic few minutes in the Lindsay Clancy courtroom.

    If you're just joining us, here's what happened.

    A short while ago, we got word that the jury had sent a note to the judge. That could mean anything - from a simple question to a verdict. It turned out to be neither.

    One by one, the judge called each juror in and made them affirm they could still carry out their duties.

    Eventually, he brought them in as a group and explained the legal rules of reasonable doubt, meaning the highest standard of proof is needed to convict someone in a criminal case. After that, the group was sent back to deliberate.

    Clancy's attorney Kevin Reddington spoke in court, disclosing that the note from the jury reportedly said one juror was not following the judge's instructions regarding reasonable doubt. He called the judge's instructions "soft" and urged him to remove the juror in question. Prosecutors said they had no issue with how the judge handled the situation.

    Ultimately, the judge said he did not want to interfere with the jury. So after 36 hours, deliberations continue.

  6. Lining up back to go into court - watch live abovepublished at 20:53 BST
    Breaking

    Ana Faguy
    Reporting from court in Massachusetts

    We're lining up to go back into the courtroom, though we're not sure why.

  7. Reddington's request to remove juror - watch and read his statementpublished at 20:52 BST

    Here's what Lindsay Clancy's defence lawyer Kevin Reddington said in court just a few minutes ago:

    The court has an instruction from the foreperson of that jury, - that's been working for a week now - saying that there's one juror who refuses to listen to the law that you’ve given him or her on reasonable doubt.

    I suggest respectfully that the soft instruction that you gave them saying, at the sidebar, 'can you listen to the law as I instruct you, does not focus on the issue' – the question is not sufficient enough, it does not allow any foundation for a motion to remove the juror who refuses to accept your instructions on the law on a reasonable doubt.

    If we come back In a half an hour with a mistrial because of a juror that has just spurned the instructions of this court, that's a shame, that's a real shame.

    And that’s why I object to the court's ruling, I request that we have further inquiry – my motion is to remove this juror that refuses to listen to your instruction on reasonable doubt.

    Media caption,

    Watch: Defence calls for one juror to be dismissed

  8. Hard to know what will happen nextpublished at 20:50 BST

    Ana Faguy
    Reporting from court in Massachusetts

    We're all back in the hallway now outside the courtroom. We know a lot more than we did an hour ago. According to Reddington, Clancy's attorney, one juror is a holdout.

    All the reporters are asking one another about precedent in Massachusetts and about what's going to happen next.

    The truth is, we have no clue until the jury tells us.

  9. Prosecutor says judge's instructions were sufficientpublished at 20:48 BST

    Prosecuting attorney Jennifer Sprague says the judge's instructions to the jury were sufficient, disagreeing with Clancy's attorney, who thinks a juror should be dismissed based on a note provided by the jury's foreperson.

    "There's no way to determine what the deliberations are, who's correct, who's incorrect, nor should we attempt to," she said, adding she is okay with the judge's general instructions.

  10. Clancy lawyer calls continued deliberations 'a real shame'published at 20:46 BST

    "I appreciate that you're allowing us to be heard in public," says Reddington, Clancy's lawyer, telling the judge that he would prefer to speak publicly rather than privately during a sidebar with the judge.

    One juror, he says, "is refusing" to listen to the judge's instructions about "reasonable doubt", and that they have "spurned the instructions of this court".

    He calls it a "shame" that the jury has been instructed to continue deliberating.

    The judge says it would not be "proper... to side with one side or the other on deliberations", and that he has no choice but to ask them to keep trying to reach a verdict.

  11. Defence calls for one juror to be dismissedpublished at 20:43 BST
    Breaking

    Clancy's defence lawyer Kevin Reddington is asking the judge to remove one juror.

    He says, citing the jury foreperson, that one person isn't listening to the judge's instructions about what constitutes reasonable doubt in a criminal case.

    He argues there is no choice but to expel this juror.

  12. Clancy bows her head as her lawyer comforts herpublished at 20:36 BST

    Ana Faguy
    Reporting from court in Massachusetts

    Clancy bows her head into her lap as the assembled media begin to exit the courtroom. Her lawyer is seen holding her in a side hug and rubbing her back.

  13. 'Let's do it'published at 20:34 BST

    Ana Faguy
    Reporting from court in Massachusetts

    Kevin Reddington, Clancy's defence lawyer, is not looking at the judge in apparent frustration. The prosecutors stare on silently. The judge does appear to hear Reddington.

    We hear Reddington say, "Let's do it."

  14. Not what we expected in the courtroompublished at 20:29 BST

    Ana Faguy
    Reporting from court in Massachusetts

    This was not what we expected at all. We thought we'd be coming in here to hear there was a mistrial or that there was a question or a verdict in the case.

    Instead they are continuing their deliberations.

  15. Jury to resume deliberationspublished at 20:28 BST
    Breaking

    The jury has been sent back to continue deliberations after receiving further instructions on the law from the judge.

  16. Judge explains legal rules to jurypublished at 20:27 BST

    Ana Faguy
    Reporting from court in Massachusetts

    As the judge reads the rules of reasonable doubt to the jury, Clancy looks at the jury and at the judge and Reddington has his chairs completely turned to face the jury and is looking right at them.

    The jury is looking at the judge.

  17. Judge addresses the jury - watch livepublished at 20:26 BST
    Breaking

    Judge William Sullivan is addressing the jury as a whole now.

    A reminder - you watch the proceedings live above.

  18. Judge finishes speaking to each jurorpublished at 20:23 BST

    Judge William Sullivan has finished speaking with each of the jurors one on one. The alternate jurors are not in the courtroom.

  19. Some jurors look at Clancy as they're escorted in and out of the roompublished at 20:18 BST

    Ana Faguy
    Reporting from court in Massachusetts

    As each of the jurors come in, some appear to look at Clancy and some don't.

    We expect each of the 18 jurors - 12 deliberating and six alternates - to go through this process.

    We can't hear anything, but we watch them each one by one walk in and raise their arm, say something out loud and then we see the judge asked them a question before they are escorted out of the room.

  20. Judge bringing in jurors one by onepublished at 20:15 BST

    Ana Faguy
    Reporting from court in Massachusetts

    Now we're seeing a procedure we saw yesterday morning.

    The judge is bringing each juror in one by one and asking them to raise their hand and presumably promise they're committed to their duty.

    This time, as each juror does this, it's not just the prosecution and defence looking on, but Clancy too.