As attention is focused on the case of a mother accused of murdering a child in Duxbury, Massachusetts, questions are being raised about whether someone’s mental health can be a legal excuse for criminal activity.
During her arraignment on Tuesday, both sides agreed that Lindsay Clancy is dealing with mental health issues leading to her murder. Prosecutors said she was clear-headed the night she was accused of strangling her children with an exercise band, but defense attorneys said she had a psychosis caused by her over-medication. claims to be a break in
Clancy’s attorney has not yet said whether he will pursue an insanity defense, but says it is indisputable. Did. Dr. Paul Seisel said he would investigate voices allegedly heard by Clancy on the night of the murder.
“If you have to believe what these voices are saying and follow what they say, that’s when things go downhill,” Zeizel said.
The 32-year-old mother of Duxbury, Massachusetts met with a judge for the first time during her arraignment and participated in the hearing virtually from her hospital bed. Her attorney said she was in a dire medical condition and could not be expected to regain the function of her leg.
Legal experts said these commando hallucinations could be key to insanity defenses.
“The fact that someone planned something doesn’t mean they aren’t mentally ill. We have to consider why they planned it,” says defense attorney not involved in Clancy case said Keith Halpern of
Halpern is well versed in the legal avenues of defense. He represented Lee Kielo, who was acquitted on the grounds of his insanity after stabbing his mother to death at his home in Uxbridge in 2007. Halpern said mental health professionals, as well as Chielo’s family, who supported him, helped convince the jury.
“Were the jurors sympathetic in my case? Absolutely. Then they came to me in tears,” he said.
Halpern said jurors rarely accept that someone is not criminally responsible for behavior caused by mental illness, but it’s not unheard of, especially when a mother is accused of killing her child.
“For many jurors, this cannot be attributed to anything other than mental illness.
It’s still unclear if Clancy’s case will be tried by a jury. When it comes to mental health cases, Halpern said, both sides often come to an agreement if treatment is needed rather than trial.
Massachusetts mother Lindsay Clancy, who was charged with killing her three children in Duxbury last month, appeared in court on Tuesday from her hospital bed, prosecutors said.
