Lindsay Clancy murder trial draws some 300 US supporters, many of them women: ‘nobody takes us seriously’
The attorney for Clancy, who strangled her three children, says she suffered from postpartum psychosis Hundreds of Lindsay Clancy supporters, many wearing pink clothing emblazoned with phrases such as “Believe”, “She Needed Help” and “Peace For Lindsay”, gathered on Thursday outside the courthouse where she is on trial in the killings of her three children. Several of the 300 women, and a few men, said Clancy’s story resonated with them and that they wanted to raise awareness about how the mental health system treats women. Clancy’s lawyer does not dispute that she killed the children, but says she should not be held criminally responsible because she was mentally ill. The live-streamed trial in Plymouth, Massachusetts has sparked massive discussions online and has brought attention to postpartum psychosis. Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, says she suffered from this rare mental illness, which is linked to the stress, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes that follow childbirth.
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Cavanaugh told the court that Clancy “alluded to hearing a voice, and the voice, according to Lindsay, told her that if she did not follow the command, neither she nor her children would be safe”. Prosecutors questioned why Cavanaugh had not documented the disclosure about the voice in notes she made in Clancy’s hospital record. “I’m not there to evaluate the patient; I’m there to bear witness to their suffering,” Cavanaugh said, noting that she is not medically trained and her notes aren’t meant to be verbatim transcripts of conversations.
