Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial in Plymouth, Massachusetts, have begun deliberations after hearing closing arguments from both sides Wednesday. The former labor and delivery nurse is accused of strangling her three young children—Cora, Dawson and Callan—at their home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January 2023. Clancy has pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, with her defense team arguing she was experiencing postpartum psychosis when she killed the children.

The case centers on a fundamental legal question: whether Clancy could recognize that her actions were wrong and conform her conduct to the law at the time of the killings. Both sides agree she killed her children. The dispute is over her mental state and criminal culpability. Postpartum psychosis, which affects an estimated 1 to 2 per 1,000 women after delivery according to experts at the Cleveland Clinic, is described as a mental health emergency affecting someone's sense of reality.

What the Left Is Saying

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington argued during closing arguments that Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis and desperately sought help for her deteriorating mental health. He held up posterboards displaying Clancy's writings as her condition worsened, describing her as being in "the depths of despair."

"My God, what does she have to do? She was reaching out for help and she wasn't getting it," Reddington said. He noted that Clancy researched support for postpartum depression, called a suicide hotline, visited multiple providers and was voluntarily admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

Reddington argued that "lousy medical care" exacerbated her condition, probing the adequacy of Clancy's treatment including 25-minute video appointments and series of pharmaceutical medications as she reported various side effects. He portrayed her care as inadequate and indifferent treatment of a deteriorating patient.

The defense called Dr. Phillip Resnick, a forensic psychiatrist and expert in filicide who testified that Clancy was "clearly psychotic" on the day she killed her children and was not in control of her actions. "It was almost like she was a puppet and someone else was pulling the strings," Resnick said.

Supporters gathered outside the courthouse wearing pink to call attention to women's mental health issues. "I feel that mental health is at the cornerstone of this, but so is community, family—and we need to believe women," said Marta Quijano, a physician. "We need to support people and help people when they ask for help."

What the Right Is Saying

Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague argued in her closing that Clancy planned the killings and understood her actions were wrong. She rejected the defense's focus on systemic mental health failures.

"That's a distraction to get you angry and passionate about an important issue, but an issue that's not on trial here," Sprague said. "The case is about whether she could recognize what was wrong with her actions."

Sprague alleged that Clancy sent her then-husband to pick up takeout food while checking a map to calculate how long the errand would take, giving her time to kill the children. When she determined she needed more time, she asked him to also stop at a pharmacy.

"What she needed to know was how long specifically on that night it would take to get there, because she knew she would have a limited amount of time to do what she wanted to do," Sprague said. "And what she had decided to do was to kill the children and then kill herself."

Sprague also argued that Clancy lied to mental health providers about her dark thoughts in December 2022, showing she understood those thoughts were wrong. "That's a rational thought," Sprague said. "It also shows you that she knew it was a bad thought, a wrong thought."

Prosecution forensic psychologist Kirk Heilbrun testified he did not believe Clancy's claim that she hallucinated a voice commanding her to kill her children. He concluded she retained awareness of the illegality of killing others and was criminally responsible for the killings.

What the Numbers Show

Postpartum psychosis affects 1 to 2 per 1,000 women after delivery, according to data from the Cleveland Clinic and medical literature. The condition is considered a mental health emergency that can affect anyone's sense of reality following childbirth, though chances are higher for individuals with certain pre-existing mental health conditions.

Research published in 2023 by researchers at the Medical University of Lublin in Poland found that about half of people with postpartum psychosis have a previous history of psychiatric problems, with bipolar affective disorder being the most common associated risk factor. Though most people with postpartum psychosis do not harm their children, mothers with severe cases may attempt to harm themselves and others.

The trial has drawn national attention to gaps in mental health care for new mothers. Clancy's defense team argued she received inadequate support through telemedicine appointments and medication management rather than intensive treatment.

The Bottom Line

Judge William Sullivan instructed jurors on the legal standard of "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" before deliberations began, telling them they must have "an abiding conviction to a moral certainty that the charge is true." Jurors must decide whether Clancy was criminally responsible and, if so, what degree of murder applies.

The verdict carries significant implications for how courts weigh mental illness as a defense in cases involving parents who harm their children. Regardless of outcome, legal observers say the trial has highlighted the need for better postpartum mental health screening and treatment access in the United States.