A juror’s on-air disclosure that the lone holdout in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial was a Black man left CBS Mornings host Gayle King reacting with surprise Friday, and the moment quickly went viral on social media, drawing sharp criticism from conservative commentators.
Ms. King interviewed Paula Devlin, one of the 12 jurors who deliberated nearly 40 hours before a mistrial was declared in the case against Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of strangling her three young children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan. Ms. Clancy’s defense argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and the effects of prescribed psychiatric medication at the time.
Ms. King asked Ms. Devlin about the racial makeup of the panel, which consisted of nine women and three men. Ms. Devlin told her one juror was a person of color and the rest were white. When Ms. King asked whether that juror — the sole holdout who wanted to convict Ms. Clancy — was a Black man, Ms. Devlin confirmed it was. “Whoa,” King responded, pausing before adding, “I have to sit with that for just a second.”
The exchange was clipped and circulated by Media Research Center’s Curtis Houck, and conservative voices seized on Ms. King’s reaction as evidence of an unspoken assumption about the holdout juror’s identity. Florida Voice’s Eric Daugherty called CBS “utterly SHOCKED” that the holdout “refused to cave,” while other social media users argued King’s pause suggested she had assumed the lone dissenting juror was white.
The backlash extended beyond Breitbart’s readership. Meghan McCain asked pointedly why a Black man’s vote on the jury would prompt Ms. King to react the way she did, and commentator Hans Mahncke drew a comparison to remarks Justice Clarence Thomas made during his 1991 confirmation hearings about assumptions placed on Black conservatives who reach unexpected conclusions.
Judge William Sullivan declared the mistrial last week after the jury deadlocked 11-1, with 11 jurors favoring a verdict of not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility. Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek a retrial; the next hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 29.
This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times' AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times' original reporting, wire services, and/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.