A Massachusetts justice has denied a question to disregard the execution lawsuit against Lindsay Clancy, the US pistillate accused of murdering her 3 children.
The judge's ruling comes aft Clancy's defence squad requested dismissal of the lawsuit aft her archetypal proceedings ended successful a mistrial successful September, erstwhile a 12-person assemblage failed to scope a consensus.
The ruling clears the mode for prosecutors to prosecute the case. They could trim the charges successful a imaginable 2nd proceedings oregon disregard them altogether.
Clancy has not denied sidesplitting her children successful 2023, but her defence squad argues she was suffering from terrible postpartum psychosis astatine the time. Prosecutors accidental the killings were intentional.
Clancy's defence squad had argued to disregard the lawsuit against her owed to treble jeopardy - a ineligible modular that says a idiosyncratic cannot beryllium tried for the aforesaid transgression twice.
Her lawyers argued that Judge William Sullivan, who presided implicit the August execution trial, acted prematurely erstwhile helium declared a mistrial connected 4 September, saying that helium should person sought a viable alternative.
In his ruling connected Monday, Sullivan said that a retrial would not unconstitutionally taxable her to treble jeopardy, according to tribunal documents obtained by the BBC.
Sullivan besides denied a defence question to spot records of the lone holdout juror successful the lawsuit and to question the juror nether oath. He said that questioning the juror "would person been impermissibly coercive".
"Although a mistrial whitethorn beryllium costly successful some quality and monetary costs, it is not to beryllium avoided by intrusion into the jury's domain," helium wrote.
He besides said that the anticipation that "an unreasonably stubborn oregon eccentric juror" could beryllium seated is "an unavoidable hazard of the assemblage system".
"Because the tribunal concludes that determination was manifest necessity for a mistrial based connected the jury's deadlock, a retrial connected the execution indictments does not interruption Clancy's close not to beryllium placed successful treble jeopardy," helium wrote.
The justice scheduled a proceeding for 16 November to sermon erstwhile to clasp a 2nd trial. He has antecedently suggested it could statesman successful March.
English (US)·