The lawyer for Lindsay Clancy publicly asked President Donald Trump to consider granting a pardon for his client after her murder trial in Massachusetts concluded with a mistrial.
Clancy, 36, has been accused of killing her three children in their home in January 2023. Her attorney, Kevin Reddington, made the plea at the end of an interview on ABC's Good Morning America, saying, "Mr. President, I would hope that you would consider this young lady, the type of person she is and what she’s been through, and consider a pardon."
News that the attorney sought clemency from the president comes after a state judge declared a mistrial when jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. The judge's declaration followed testimony in which Clancy’s defense argued she was not guilty by reason of insanity, asserting she experienced a psychotic episode attributable to postpartum psychosis. Prosecutors countered that the killings were premeditated.
Under the Constitution, a president's pardon power is limited to federal offenses. The case against Clancy was brought under state law. Still, the White House pointed to President Trump’s prior public remarks about the case when asked about the pardon request. Trump, who said last week he had been following the trial, told reporters after the mistrial, "She did a horrible, horrible thing. 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 mental institution or jail or something."
The apparent mismatch between the venue of the prosecution and the scope of the presidential pardon power creates a legal and political ambiguity. The administration has previously taken a broad view of clemency, granting relief in matters that originated at the state level. That precedent was noted in last December’s pardon of Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk who had been convicted on state charges related to voting machine tampering.
In Peters’ case, the pardon was widely seen as largely symbolic because the convictions were under state law. The move nonetheless generated political pressure on Colorado's governor, Jared Polis, a Democrat. Polis subsequently granted clemency in May, after which Peters appeared with President Trump in the Oval Office.
Legal observers note the state could still pursue a retrial in Clancy's case. The mistrial leaves open the possibility that prosecutors will seek to retry the matter under state charges. The defense's insanity argument and the prosecution's assertion of premeditation were central to the jury's inability to reach a unanimous decision.
Contextual note: The information above is drawn from public statements and court developments surrounding the case and the subsequent request for presidential clemency. Where outcomes remain unsettled, such as whether state prosecutors will seek retrial or whether any federal intervention might occur, the article reflects those uncertainties rather than asserting particular future actions.