The jury in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial has again reported a deadlock, prompting Judge William Sullivan to deliver a Tuey-Rodriguez instruction — known as a “dynamite charge” — as the case teeters closer to a possible mistrial while deliberations continue over whether Clancy knew what she was doing when her three children died.
The panel of nine women and three men told the judge they remain unable to reach a unanimous verdict after another day of deliberations. They had previously sent a similar note indicating disagreement, and the judge sent them back to try again before allowing them to break for the day. When the deadlock persisted, Sullivan read the special instruction intended to encourage jurors to re-examine their positions without coercion.
A Tuey-Rodriguez charge is unique to Massachusetts and is sometimes called a “dynamite charge” because it is intended to help break a jury impasse without coercing a verdict.
Retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Thomas Drechsler explained the charge is used only after a judge is satisfied jurors have deliberated in good faith but still cannot agree. The instruction asks jurors to consider whether they can reasonably yield on particular points while making clear no juror should abandon sincerely held views. The goal is practical: avoid sending the case to another jury unless it is unavoidable.
“The charge encourages the jurors to rethink their own feelings in light of what other jurors feel” while reminding them that no one is in a better position to decide the case than the jurors who heard all the evidence, Drechsler said.
If jurors report they remain deadlocked after receiving the instruction, “there’s a higher likelihood” the case could end in a mistrial, Drechsler said, though he noted he has seen juries return verdicts after receiving a Tuey-Rodriguez charge.
Legal analysts note that sometimes the dynamite charge succeeds because jurors do not want to force a retrial that would require another jury to revisit the same painful facts. Other times the divide is too deep and the judge must declare a mistrial, sending prosecutors back to square one. With the instruction delivered, the next move depends on whether the panel can narrow their disagreements and produce a unanimous decision.
Prosecutors say they presented evidence supporting murder and strangulation charges against Lindsay Clancy for the January 24, 2023 deaths of her children in Duxbury, Massachusetts. The children were identified as 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan. The defense maintains Clancy suffered a psychotic episode and lacked criminal responsibility at the time, which would shield her from a conviction under Massachusetts law.
Those charges allow jurors to consider a range of outcomes: conviction for first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, or a finding of not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility. A first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole under state law, which raises the stakes considerably for the jury’s decision. The defense’s mental health argument has been central to the case and complicates the jury’s weighing of intent and culpability.
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Observers and local reporters have speculated about how close the jury might be to a verdict, but the court has not disclosed whether the deadlock stems from a lone holdout or multiple jurors standing firm. That uncertainty fuels public interest and media coverage, yet the jury’s deliberations remain private by design to protect both the process and juror safety. The note passed to the judge simply said the jury had not reached unanimity, leaving the exact split unknown.
Courtroom tension increased earlier in the proceedings when an incident involved someone allegedly trying to interfere with jurors, highlighting the sensitivity and public scrutiny surrounding the trial. Still, the process continues under Judge Sullivan’s oversight, with deliberations scheduled to resume the next morning. The court’s immediate concern is whether the Tuey-Rodriguez instruction will prompt movement or whether a mistrial will become the likely outcome.
The case and its painful facts have attracted sustained attention because of the children’s ages and the nature of the allegations. Many in the community and beyond are watching to see whether the jury can reach a unanimous decision or whether prosecutors will have to decide whether to retry the case. For now, the panel returns to the jury room under the guidance of a charge designed to coax consensus while guarding against coercion.
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