Jury in Lindsay Clancy trial finishes fourth day of deliberations without a verdict

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (CNN) — The jury in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial ended deliberations for the day Tuesday without reaching a verdict and will return to court Wednesday for further deliberations.

“My understanding is that you requested to be excused until tomorrow at 9 o’clock, so I’m going to excuse you ‘til then,” Judge William F. Sullivan said.

The 12-person jury, made up of 9 women and 3 men, deliberated for about 6 hours on Tuesday, pushing its total to about 23 hours over four days.

Earlier Tuesday, the jury sent a note to the court saying they were “unable to come to a unanimous decision.” The judge directed the jury to continue deliberating to try to reach a verdict.

“I’ve got your question, and the question is: ‘After many hours of deliberation, we are unable to come to a unanimous decision,'” Sullivan said, after calling the parties and jurors back into the courtroom.

“I know that this was a long trial. I know there are over 80 witnesses, there were over 300 exhibits — but because of that, I’m going to ask you to go back out, keeping in mind all the instructions I gave you, and continue deliberations at this time,” the judge said.

If the jury remains deadlocked, the judge may eventually choose to declare a mistrial, ending the trial without a clear resolution and raising the possibility of another trial down the road.

Jurors are considering five verdicts: guilty of first-degree murder, guilty of second-degree murder, guilty of manslaughter, not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility, or not guilty.

Here’s a timeline of how jury deliberations have gone so far in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial:

• Thursday, Aug. 27: The 12-person jury begins deliberations at about midday and deliberates for about 3.5 hours.
• Friday, Aug. 28: The jury asks the court to see the prescription pill bottles and the knife, key physical evidence in the case. The jury deliberates for just under seven hours before leaving for the weekend.
• Monday, Aug. 31: The jury deliberates for about seven more hours.
• Tuesday, Sept. 1: The jury sends a note to the court saying they “are unable to come to a unanimous decision.” The judge instructs the jury to go back and deliberate further. The jury deliberates for about six hours, pushing the total deliberation time to about 23 hours.

Clancy, 36, doesn’t deny strangling her three children but says postpartum psychosis led to her actions and that she shouldn’t be held criminally responsible for their deaths. Prosecutors, however, argue that Clancy knew what she was doing and should be held accountable for the legal consequences.

Clancy has pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.

A conviction in this case could result in a life sentence for Clancy. If she is acquitted, a judge could still order her confined to a mental health facility if an evaluation determines she is a danger to the public.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published at 8:40 a.m. Tuesday and has been updated.

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