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Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, maintains that she was so mentally ill that she shouldn’t be held criminally responsible for the killings. According to her defense, she had bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis and, ultimately, it led her to believe she heard a voice telling her to kill the children so she could end her own life.

In a case that has captivated the American public, Clancy has not disputed that she killed them, but her lawyers argue she should not be held legally responsible because she was suffering from severe mental illness.

The Lindsay Clancy trial was heading for closing arguments Wednesday, as a final witness for the prosecution laid out that he believed the Massachusetts mother knew right from wrong when she took the lives of her three young children before attempting to commit suicide in 2023.

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — Lindsay Clancy strangled her three children because she was depressed and tired of living, not because of failings with mental healthcare, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday before they began deliberating in her murder trial.

At the start of the trial, Clancy, who has admitted to fatally strangling her three young children, was facing three counts of first-degree murder, which carry a life sentence. Clancy’s defense team argued that jurors should be allowed to consider second-degree murder or manslaughter, while the state objected. Judge William Sullivan ultimately agreed to give the manslaughter instruction.

Sprague emphasized that Clancy was “a functioning mom” in the months leading up to the murders, even throwing a birthday party for her children. The prosecutor said that while she told close family members about thoughts of harming her children, the mother did not tell therapists or healthcare providers about hallucinations leading up to the killings. Even with her psychologist, Clancy denied wanting to hurt anyone else, denied voices, denied having visual hallucinations, and showed no signs of psychosis, Sprague said.

Lindsay Clancy trial draws attention to postpartum mental health Jurors are deliberating in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, a case that has raised questions about maternal mental healthcare. Clancy does not deny killing her children, but she pleaded not guilty, arguing she can't be held criminally responsible because the murders occurred while she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. Amna Nawaz discussed more with Shelley Murphy of The Boston Globe.

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A prosecutor holds one of the exercise straps that Lindsay Clancy used to strangle her children during Clancy's murder trial on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. John Tlumacki/Pool The Boston Globe via AP

Jury Begins Deliberations in Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial In closing arguments, Ms. Clancy’s lawyer called her “a darn good mother.” The prosecutor accused her of “extreme atrocity and cruelty.”

What to know about the Lindsay Clancy trial Closing arguments are expected later this week in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the 36-year-old Massachusetts mother who strangled her three kids to death in 2023.

Whether Clancy lacked criminal responsibility because of genuine mental incapacity must be judged according to evidence and due process. The scandal is that the culture answered that question in her favor before the jury could, directing its emotional energy toward her rather than her three dead children.