Lindsay Clancy Trial Divides Americans Over 3 Child Killings as Donations Near $1 Million
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 22
Lindsay Clancy Trial Divides Americans Over 3 Child Killings as Donations Near $1 Million
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 22
Summary
Hundreds of pink-clad supporters gathered at a Plymouth, Massachusetts, courthouse as Lindsay Clancy stood trial in the killings of her three children, turning the case into a national flashpoint.
The split centers on whether the deaths show a failure to recognize and treat severe postpartum mental illness or demand straightforward punishment for what critics call the methodical murder of children ages 5, 3 and 8 months.
Nearly $1 million donated to a fund for Clancy's parents has intensified the backlash, with opponents arguing public sympathy has shifted away from the children.
Jonathan Hatami, a child-abuse prosecutor in Los Angeles County, said the case has exposed a broader U.S. argument over how to balance maternal mental-health failures against accountability in child killings.