Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,
The judge in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy ordered that the jurors' names be sealed indefinitely due to concerns about their privacy.
Judge William Sullivan said on Sept. 14 that the jury list will remain impounded until a new order is issued, citing "a real and present" risk of personal harm to the jurors and to the integrity of their work if the list is made public.
Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children, Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months.
She admitted to strangling her children with exercise bands in the basement of her Duxbury, Massachusetts, home on Jan. 24, 2023, while her then-husband was running errands. She then cut her wrists and neck and jumped out of a second-story window in a failed suicide attempt, which left her paralyzed from the waist down.
Sullivan said on Monday that the case continues to draw "divisive attention" in Massachusetts and beyond, noting that the flood of social media posts garnering public reactions to the case's deliberations raises issues.
"There have been identifications of jurors and their personal information without their permission, through other sources. At least one juror has requested that the order be extended indefinitely," Sullivan said of the impoundment order.
The judge said that one individual had been arrested and charged with secretly recording jurors as they left Plymouth Superior Court. He did not provide details about the arrest.
The order does not prohibit jurors from identifying themselves or speaking publicly if they choose to.
Sullivan acknowledged that some jurors have spoken to the media since the case ended in a mistrial on Sept. 4, but noted that most have chosen to remain anonymous.
On Sept. 4, the judge declared a mistrial in Clancy's murder trial after the jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Eleven of the 12 jurors favored finding Clancy not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility for the murder of her three children in 2023.
The defense team asked the judge to remove the holdout juror, but the judge rejected the request.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a Sept. 11 post on X that the holdout juror's identity should be protected and accused the media of trying to smear the juror.
DeSantis also said the state of Florida would be willing to provide asylum if the juror is being harassed.
Defense lawyer Kevin Reddington had urged jurors to find Clancy not guilty by reason of insanity, saying she was experiencing postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings.
Prosecutors argued that Clancy intentionally planned and executed the deaths of her children.
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said on Sept. 4 that his team had not yet decided whether to pursue a second trial. The next hearing is set for Sept. 29.
If found guilty of first-degree murder, Clancy would face life in prison without the possibility of parole. If found not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, she could be committed to a state psychiatric hospital.