The defense attorney for Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother who admitted to killing her three young children, publicly asked President Trump on Tuesday to pardon his client — a request the president has no legal authority to fulfill, since Clancy is being prosecuted under state, not federal, law.
Attorney Kevin Reddington made the appeal during his first interview since a mistrial was declared last week in Clancy’s case, which was heard in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Speaking with George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America,” Reddington described his client warmly. “Just a wonderful neighbor, friend, wife, mother,” he said. “I do feel a very strong bond with Lindsay.”
The jury in Clancy’s criminal trial deadlocked 11-1, leading the judge to declare a mistrial. Reddington had already drawn attention outside the courthouse for criticizing the lone holdout juror, saying “I hope that guy can sleep well at night.” On air, he doubled down, telling Stephanopoulos the juror “acknowledged that he had reasonable doubt and then refused to apply the law. That’s what bothered me.” Reddington said the holdout had “robbed” his client of a satisfactory outcome.
Asked what comes next, Reddington — who has previously given conflicting signals about whether Clancy could withstand a second trial — said he now hopes the two sides can reach some kind of agreement rather than proceed to retrial.
“Mr. President, I would hope that you would consider this young lady … what she’s been through, and consider a pardon.”
The request, however, runs into a basic feature of the American federal system: presidential pardon power extends only to federal offenses. Clancy’s prosecution is a Massachusetts state case, meaning any clemency would have to come from Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, not from the White House.
Trump addressed the case last week when reporters asked him about it directly. “Look, she did a horrible, horrible thing,” he said. “Can’t be worse. But you’ll find out what the price to pay is. There’ll be a price. It’s going to be a mental institution or jail or something.”
Clancy is accused of killing her three children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan — in January 2023. Reddington has continued to argue that Clancy was severely mentally ill at the time and that the medical system failed to properly treat her before the killings.
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