OUTSIDE HIS JURISDICTION: Why Trump Can’t Save Lindsay Clancy

​PLYMOUTH, Mass. — The legal battle surrounding Lindsay Clancy took an unexpected turn on Tuesday when defense attorney Kevin Reddington made a direct, public appeal to President Donald Trump for an executive pardon.

​The appeal follows a Plymouth Superior Court judge’s decision to declare a mistrial after a 12-member jury deadlocked 11–1 following more than 38 hours of deliberations.

​Appearing on ABC’s Good Morning America, Reddington urged the administration to weigh the profound personal tragedy and severe mental health crisis underlying the case.

​”Mr. President, I would hope that you would consider this young lady, the type of person she is, what she’s been through, and consider a pardon,” Reddington said during the broadcast.

​The defense lawyer pointed to previous remarks made by Trump, who described the case as a “horrible tragedy” while noting that Clancy faces a difficult reckoning through either imprisonment or psychiatric confinement.

​However, legal experts note that a presidential pardon faces significant structural hurdles. Under United States constitutional law, the executive pardon power is strictly limited to federal offenses. Because Clancy was prosecuted under Massachusetts state law by the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, any form of clemency or pardon would traditionally fall under the authority of the state’s legal framework rather than the White House.

​Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, stands accused of strangling her three young children—five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan—at their Duxbury home in January 2023. Following the incident, Clancy jumped from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt that left her paralyzed from the waist down.

​Throughout the high-profile trial, the defense did not contest the physical acts but argued that Clancy was legally not responsible due to debilitating postpartum psychosis. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Phillip Resnick testified that Clancy was “frankly psychotic” and suffering from severe depression at the time.

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​Conversely, prosecutors maintained that Clancy acted with premeditation and calculation, ensuring her husband was out of the house before executing the killings. Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz emphasized that the proceedings centered strictly on accountability for the deaths of the three children.

​With the first trial concluding without a unanimous verdict, prosecutors are weighing whether to pursue a retrial or explore alternative resolutions. A status hearing has been scheduled in Plymouth Superior Court to establish the next procedural steps.