The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled the state’s death penalty law unconstitutional in 1984. Clancy, 36, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the 2023 deaths of her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months. 27, and ended their second day Friday without a verdict.
The Lindsay Clancy murder trial is now with the jury, but the death penalty is not a possible punishment in the case. Massachusetts does not allow capital punishment in state courts. Jurors began deliberating Thursday, Aug. They are expected to return Monday.
She has admitted to the killings. The question is whether she was criminally responsible for what she did. No, Massachusetts has not allowed the death penalty as a punishment in state court since the Supreme Judicial Court struck down the state’s capital punishment law in 1984.
The ruling said the law violated protections in the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.
The main issue before the jury is not simply whether Clancy killed her children.
Federal cases are different. Federal prosecutors can seek the death penalty for certain crimes even when they happen in Massachusetts. Because it was prosecuted in federal court, the case of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is one example.
That means the death penalty is not an option for Lindsay Clancy if she is convicted in Plymouth Superior Court. The case is being handled under Massachusetts state law.
