From Fox News · Michael Ruiz · · 2m
A Clancy juror says the verdict was about other women
A juror in the Lindsay Clancy mistrial says the panel wanted to change things for other mothers, and a legal analyst says that is exactly the problem.
In brief
A juror in the Lindsay Clancy mistrial says the panel wanted to change things for other mothers, and a legal analyst says that is exactly the problem. Jurors are sworn to decide one case on its facts, so when a panel starts thinking about the message its verdict sends, the verdict itself becomes vulnerable. Originally…
A juror breaks her silence
Paula Devlin, 65, was one of 11 jurors who wanted Lindsay Clancy found not criminally responsible for killing her three children. She spoke to CBS over the weekend about how the panel saw the case.
They wanted to change something
Devlin said the jurors knew they were at a turning point and hoped the outcome would help other women and families. She framed justice for the children as making sure it never happens again.
“justice for those children is this never happening again”
The split before the deadlock
Eight jurors favored not criminally responsible, two were undecided, and two leaned guilty. That eventually hardened into an 11-1 deadlock and a mistrial.
An analyst calls it problematic
Trial attorney Neama Rahmani said jurors decide only the facts in front of them. Their job is to apply the law, not to make it.
“It is not appropriate for the jurors to consider the impact of their decision on other women, children or cases”
Little can be done now
Judge Sullivan already declared the mistrial, and the law mostly bars digging into jury deliberations. An outside-influence exception exists, but it would require proving media affected the panel.
“the law generally prohibits inquiry into juror deliberations”
The holdout stays quiet
Jurors and defense lawyer Kevin Reddington say the lone holdout never showed them the evidence he believed proved guilt. He has not spoken publicly, and a fundraiser for him has topped $115,000.
“If he had shown us some evidence, then we all would have been OK with that”
Patrick Clancy moves on
The children's father was photographed in the Hamptons with his new wife, Rachel Danis, at a farm stand in Water Mill days after the mistrial.
What the retrial will hinge on
Clancy faces three counts of first-degree murder in the January 2023 strangling deaths of Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months. Her defense never disputed the killings, only her responsibility.
What to remember
Jurors are sworn to decide one case on its facts, so when a panel starts thinking about the message its verdict sends, the verdict itself becomes vulnerable.
