@meghannmcuniff: Lindsay Clancy likely will be committed to a state hospital in Massachusetts or another mental health facility if jurors decide she's not criminally responsible for killing her three children. Judge William Sullivan told jurors about the consequences of a not guilty verdict this morning when he instructed them on the charges they'll consider when they begin deliberating later today (Thursday, August 27, day 22). He frist told them that their verdict "should be based solely on the evidence and the law of this case." "If a defendant is found not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, the district attorney or another appropriate authority may and generally does petition the court to commit the defendant to a mental health facility or to Bridgewater State Hospital." "If the court concludes that the defendant is mentally ill and that her discharge would create a substantial likelihood of serious harm to herself or others, then the court will grant the petition and commit the defendant to a proper mental health facility or to Bridgewater State Hospital. Periodically, the court reviews the order of commitment." "If the defendant is still suffering from mental disease or defect and is still dangerous, then the court will order the defendant to continue to be committed to the mental health facility or to Bridgewater State Hospital. There is no limit to the number of such renewed orders of commitment, as long as the defendant continues to be mentally ill and dangerous." Jurors must first consider whether Clancy is guilty of murder, and if it's first-degree murder or second0-degree murder. If they say she's not guilty, they must consider a lesser-included manslaughter charge. You can watch the entire 29-minute video of Sullivan reading the instructions on my YouTube channel or Facebook page. Prosecutors are seeking three murder convictions against Clancy for the strangulation deaths of Cora and her brothers Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, on Jan. 24, 2023, in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Her defense is that she didn't know what she was doing because she was in a postpartum psychosis. #law #crime #MentalHealth

Meghann Cuniff

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Thursday 27 August 2026 15:33:49 GMT