Psychologist testifies Lindsay Clancy was not criminally responsible in killing of her 3 children

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — Lindsay Clancy didn’t admit the “wrongfulness” of sidesplitting her 3 children due to the fact that of her intelligence wellness issues, a scientist testifying for the defence said astatine her execution proceedings Wednesday.

The grounds of Paul Zeizel is the strongest grounds yet to enactment the defence contentions that Clancy should not beryllium held legally liable for execution due to the fact that she has bipolar upset and was successful the grip of a uncommon intelligence unwellness called postpartum psychosis erstwhile she killed her 3 children earlier trying to termination herself. Zeizel began seeing Clancy arsenic a diligent astatine a infirmary aft the deaths.

“She was incapable to conform her behaviour to the regularisation of law. She had nary appreciation for the wrongfulness of her act,” Zeizel said, adding that she had “a intelligence illness oregon a defect.”

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Clancy, 36, has pleaded not blameworthy to execution charges successful the deaths of Callan, Dawson and Cora Clancy, who ranged from 8 months to 5 years old. Postpartum psychosis is linked to the stress, slumber deprivation and hormonal changes that travel childbirth. Researchers estimation that the information — which is much superior and little communal than postpartum slump — afflicts 1 to 2 per 1,000 women aft delivery.

Prosecutors accidental the erstwhile labour and transportation caregiver planned the January 2023 killings and contrived to get her hubby retired of the location by sending him to prime up medicine for 1 of their children and meal for the family.

Clancy was not getting better

Zeizel, who said helium spent much than 35 hours with Clancy implicit dozens of visits and reviewed her aesculapian records, said she went to a perinatal session successful December 2022 due to the fact that she felt her “brain was damaged,” “she should termination herself” and that she “is ne'er going to get immoderate better.” She besides showed signs of psychosis, was paranoid and feared that radical could perceive her thoughts and that she would suffer her children.

“She was disquieted that her children would beryllium removed from her and that she would ne'er spot them again,” helium said.

But conscionable due to the fact that she was successful a psychotic state, Zeizel said, that didn’t mean she couldn’t bash “everyday tasks of living” similar driving and searching the internet, a notation to the information that the time of the killings she took her girl to the doctor, played with the children successful the snowfall and searched online for a pharmacy and a restaurant.

“So the information she is not talking astir the unicorns successful the corner, she is not slurring her words and she is not incapable to walk, to your sentiment to a grade of aesculapian certainty, does that mean she is not successful a psychotic state?” Clancy’s lawyer Kevin Reddington asked.

Zeizel responded: “It does not.”

Prosecution challenges Zeizel’s credibility

On cross-examination, prosecutors pointed retired mistakes Zeizel made successful his study astir Clancy and questioned whether helium could beryllium nonsubjective astir her diagnosis erstwhile helium was seeing her arsenic a diligent and moving with the defence including appearing with Reddington astatine a quality conference.

Zeizel acknowledged that determination was thing successful Clancy’s aesculapian records successful which she reports proceeding voices telling her to termination herself, lone that she told her caregivers that “she wanted to die.”

Prosecutors person questioned the seriousness of Clancy’s termination attempt. After strangling her children, Clancy jumped from a second-story model and remains paralyzed from the waist down.

Prosecution brings up the children’s birthdays

Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham besides work from regular reports from Tewksbury Hospital, the authorities psychiatric infirmary wherever Clancy stays, that included the day of the killings and what would person been her children’s birthdays. Those reports mentioned her parents sometimes visiting oregon her talking with different patients. But they ne'er mentioned thing she did to retrieve her children.

Reddington asked Zeizel if helium saw thing successful the grounds from the infirmary astir her “laughing, and partying and having a bully time” portion successful the hospital.

“Lindsay Clancy has atrocious days and worse days,” Zeizel said.

Zeizel besides said Clancy often talks astir her children, aiming to dispel prosecutors’ contention that she ne'er mentions them. “She truly loves them and misses them and thinks of them each azygous day, astir each infinitesimal of the day,” Zeizel said.

If convicted of murder, Clancy faces beingness successful situation without parole. If recovered not blameworthy due to the fact that of a deficiency of transgression responsibility, she would beryllium committed to a authorities intelligence wellness facility.