OPINION:
The mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy case has evoked an enormous response in the press and among the public, with voluminous comments on social media sites and a daily barrage of news coverage (“Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer asks the judge to spare her a second trial for killing her children,” Web, Sept. 10).
The focal point has become the single juror who refused to change his position in favor of convicting Ms. Clancy.
Some of the other jurors, including the forewoman, have done interviews with the media. Their public denigration of the holdout juror who held his ground is pathetic behavior on the part of people who have apparently been basking in their sudden fame.
It is not an admirable quality to be so vociferously critical of a peer on a jury. And it comes across as childish and petulant.
The holdout juror stood his ground and did not succumb to the others in the jury room who likely badgered and bullied him in an attempt to persuade him to follow their lead. It takes someone with strong character and integrity to remain unmoved in opposition to the majority, especially under intense pressure.
Ms. Clancy’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, has filed a motion to have this case dismissed. It should not be granted. Ms. Clancy should be retried for first degree murder for each child victim.
Although she is said to have suffered from depression and anxiety at the time of the deaths, Ms. Clancy was not formally diagnosed with postpartum psychosis. Most people who commit homicide are mentally ill, but that does not mean that they are unaware of their actions or that they are not criminally responsible.
Ms. Clancy must be held accountable and justice must be served for Cora, Dawson and Callan Clancy.
KAREN L. BUNE
McLean, Virginia
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