Over the past month, in a closely watched trial assessing an insanity claim, Lindsay Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington, argued that his client murdered her children in a state of post-partum psychosis brought on by the negligence and mistreatment of her healthcare providers responsible for her care. This position found public support, particularly among women who identified with Clancy, despite the severity of her illness and the barbaric nature of her reaction.
The defense maintains that Clancy's psychiatric treatment was so uncoordinated that doctors subjected her to "excessive and terrible medication," leading to auditory hallucinations. Hundreds of people gathered in front of the Plymouth courthouse, in Massachusetts, for a demonstration in support of her.
Clancy is a former labor and delivery nurse. The trial is assessing whether she was capable of distinguishing right from wrong at the time of the crimes, based on her insanity claim.
