President Donald Trump indicated that he will not offer Lindsay Clancy a presidential pardon after the murder trial involving the Massachusetts mother ended in a mistrial when the jury failed to reach a verdict.
Trump suggested that he cannot intervene because the high-profile case is a state matter rather than a federal one.
“It’s a very sad situation,” Trump told reporters Sunday. “I certainly heard that, but look, it’s very sad. There is no winner there. There’s no win no matter what you do. Three children are dead.”
Clancy’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, had publicly appealed to Trump to consider granting his client a pardon. Reddington made the request last week during an appearance on “Good Morning America” after the trial ended without a verdict.
“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,” Reddington, 75, said.
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Reddington later appeared on CBS Boston and again asked Trump to consider a pardon. However, he acknowledged that the president does not have the legal authority to grant the request because Clancy is facing state charges. Presidents have authority to pardon federal offenses, not state crimes.
Still, Reddington argued that Trump could potentially influence what happens next as prosecutors consider whether to retry Clancy over the deaths of her three children.
“If President Trump feels that this is a case that warrants that type of intervention from the executive branch, even though, legally, it’s not a federal case, he certainly has an awful lot of clout,” Reddington said. “I think any type of help that we can get is helpful.”
Trump also said he had heard that Reddington is a “very good attorney” and expressed hope that the parties could reach a resolution regarding the case.
“I hope they can work something out,” Trump said. “That’s something they have to work out.”
Clancy, 36, is accused of strangling her three children, Cora, Callan and Dawson, at their Massachusetts home in 2023. Her defense argued that she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis when she killed the children.
Her trial ended on Sept. 4 with a hung jury. According to the report, one holdout juror prevented the jury from reaching a verdict that would have found Clancy not guilty by reason of insanity.
If Clancy is tried again and found not guilty by reason of insanity, she could spend years in a state-run psychiatric hospital.
