President Donald Trump has refused to commit to intervening in the case of Lindsay Clancy, whose attorney publicly asked him to pardon the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children.
Trump responded to the request days after Clancy’s murder trial ended without a verdict, stressing that the case belongs to the state rather than the federal government.
“It’s actually a state situation, you know, not a federal,” Trump told reporters on Sunday when asked about the pardon appeal.
The president also described the case as deeply tragic, saying, “There’s no winner there. There’s no win no matter what you do. Three children are dead.”
Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, had made the extraordinary appeal on “Good Morning America” after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in the case.
“Mr. President, I would hope that you would consider this young lady, the type of person she is, what she’s been through, and consider a pardon,” Reddington said.
The attorney later acknowledged that he knew a presidential pardon was not legally available because Clancy’s charges are under Massachusetts law. His broader aim was reportedly to draw Trump’s attention to the case and potentially encourage discussions surrounding the possibility of ending or reducing the prosecution.
Clancy, 36, is accused of killing her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, at their Duxbury home in January 2023. She has admitted to strangling the children but has maintained that she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and should not be held criminally responsible for their deaths.
Prosecutors disputed that defence and argued that Clancy was responsible for the killings. The case went through weeks of testimony before the jury ultimately became deadlocked, forcing the court to declare a mistrial on September 4.
Trump had previously described Clancy’s actions as “horrible” and said there would be a “price” to pay, potentially involving a mental institution or jail. Following the pardon request, however, he stopped short of offering assistance and instead said the matter must be worked out at the state level.
The case remains unresolved, with Plymouth County prosecutors yet to announce whether they will seek a retrial. Clancy is due back in court on September 29 as the next stage of the proceedings takes shape.
