PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial are set to hear from final witnesses Tuesday after nearly a month of testimony focused on her mental state when she strangled her three young children at their Massachusetts home.

Clancy, 36, a former labor and delivery nurse, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the January 2023 deaths of Callan, Dawson and Cora Clancy, who ranged from 8 months to 5 years old. After killing her children, Clancy jumped from a second-floor window and remains paralyzed from the waist down.

The trial resumes with additional testimony from forensic psychologist Kirk Heilbrun, whom prosecutors hired to evaluate Clancy's psychiatric history and assess the defense claim that she was suffering from acute postpartum psychosis when she killed the children.

What the Right Is Saying

Prosecutors argue Clancy planned the killings and contrived to get her husband out of the house by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family. They maintain that she understood the gravity of her actions and took deliberate steps to execute a premeditated act.

Kirk Heilbrun told jurors Monday that he believed Clancy took her children's lives so they wouldn't 'suffer' after she killed herself. He said he did not believe Clancy's claim that she hallucinated a voice telling her to kill the children, contradicting the defense's acute psychosis narrative.

Victim advocates and conservative commentators have argued that regardless of mental health history, three innocent children's deaths demand full accountability under the law. They contend that expanding definitions of criminal non-responsibility could weaken protections for vulnerable populations, including children.

What the Left Is Saying

Progressive advocates and mental health professionals argue the case highlights critical gaps in maternal mental health care. Defense attorneys have presented testimony from medical experts who said Clancy wasn't responsible for her actions because she had lost her grip on reality due to postpartum psychosis, a rare but serious mental illness that can follow childbirth.

Throughout the trial, defense lawyer Kevin Reddington has emphasized that in the months before the killings, Clancy sought treatment for mental health problems from multiple providers and admitted herself to a psychiatric hospital. Supporters of Clancy argue she was 'begging for help' before the tragedy and that more robust postpartum mental health screening and intervention could have prevented the deaths.

Mental health advocates contend that treating postpartum psychosis as a criminal matter rather than a medical condition sets a dangerous precedent for new mothers struggling with perinatal mood disorders.

What the Numbers Show

Postpartum psychosis affects approximately 1 to 2 per 1,000 mothers who give birth, according to research published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The condition typically emerges within two weeks of childbirth and is considered a psychiatric emergency.

The National Institute of Mental Health reports that postpartum psychosis is distinct from postpartum depression and often includes symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, confusion, and erratic behavior. Without treatment, it can persist for months.

Massachusetts court records show Clancy had no prior criminal history before the January 2023 incident. Prosecutors have not filed additional charges against her husband, who returned home to discover the bodies after picking up medicine and dinner as requested by Clancy.

Defense experts testified that Clancy's psychiatric hospital stay in late 2022 included treatment adjustments for medications she had been prescribed. Court documents indicate she was on multiple prescriptions for anxiety and depression in the months leading up to the killings.

The Bottom Line

Prosecutors are expected to call at least one more expert witness before the trial moves to closing arguments, likely no earlier than Wednesday. Heilbrun is scheduled to face cross-examination from Reddington regarding his conclusions about Clancy's mental competency and criminal responsibility.

The outcome could have implications for how courts weigh postpartum psychiatric conditions against criminal intent in similar cases. Jurors must determine whether Clancy meets the legal standard for criminal responsibility given her documented mental health history and the defense's postpartum psychosis argument.

Clancy faces three counts of murder. If convicted on all counts, she would face a potential sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Her paralysis from the waist down has required accommodations during trial proceedings.