President Donald Trump has responded to a request to pardon Massachusetts mother Lindsay Clancy, whose high-profile murder trial ended in a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
Trump addressed the case Sunday after Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, publicly appealed to the president for a pardon following the mistrial.
Trump said the case was ultimately a matter for Massachusetts authorities rather than the federal government.
Trump says Clancy case is a state matter
Asked whether he would pardon Clancy, Trump described the situation as “very sad” but indicated that he would not intervene in the state prosecution.
“There’s no winner there. There’s no win no matter what you do. Three children are dead,” Trump said, according to Fox News.
Trump also praised Reddington as a good attorney and said he hoped the defense and prosecution could resolve the case.
Clancy, 36, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her three children: 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan.
Lindsay Clancy trial ends in mistrial
Clancy’s five-week trial ended Sept. 4 when the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict after more than a week of deliberations.
The case centered in part on whether Clancy was legally responsible for the deaths. Her defense argued that she suffered from postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings and therefore was legally insane.
The reported 11-1 jury split left prosecutors facing a decision over whether to retry the case.
Judge William Sullivan previously indicated that he wanted the case resolved sooner rather than later. Clancy is scheduled to return to court Sept. 29 for a status hearing and other proceedings.
Why Trump cannot pardon Clancy
Trump’s response reflects a key legal issue surrounding the pardon request: Clancy is facing charges in Massachusetts state court.
A presidential pardon generally applies to federal offenses and does not give the president authority to erase state criminal charges. Legal experts previously described Reddington’s request as unlikely to succeed for that reason.
Reddington has also signaled that he would be open to negotiations with prosecutors following the mistrial. The defense attorney has expressed hope that the case could be resolved without another full trial.
What happens next in the Clancy case?
The decision on whether to retry Clancy rests with Massachusetts prosecutors. The mistrial did not resolve the murder charges against her, leaving open the possibility of another trial or a negotiated resolution.
For now, Trump’s comments appear to close the door on federal intervention while the case remains in the Massachusetts court system.
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