Hundreds of women have supported Lindsay Clancy from outside the courthouse while she is on trial for killing her three children.
Clancy killed Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan, with resistance bands while her ex-husband Patrick Clancy was running errands.
While she does not deny killing the children, Clancy’s lawyer argues she should not be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and taking powerful drugs to cope with depression at the time.
The Guardian reported that 300 women and several men said Clancy’s story ‘resonated with them’ and they wanted to raise awareness about how the mental health system fails women.
April Vincent, a paralegal from Providence, Rhode Island, told the publication: ‘Women are being dismissed, neglected and ignored when we speak up. We’re scared because nobody takes us seriously.’
Those who attended the rally on Thursday stood silently outside of Plymouth Superior Court for more than an hour, cheering when Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, stepped outside the courthouse.
Many wore pink clothing with the phrases ‘Believe,’ ‘She Needed Help’, and ‘Peace For Lindsay.’
Renee Kimball, the organiser of the rally, told the crowd to trust Reddington to have ‘Lindsay’s fight.’
The event ended with attendees praying in a circle, holding hands, and showing their support for the former labour nurse as the trial continues.
It comes days after Lindsay begged for the trial to be stopped as she became overwhelmed by the graphic details of her children’s deaths.
Renee Stonebridge, who works at the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, had been testifying about the children’s eye and brain injuries.
Clancy looked to be hyperventilating as she listened, making gulping sounds.
A 15-minute recess was ordered, at which point Clancy’s defence attorney Kevin Reddington stood over her, his arm around her shoulder as she leaned in.
After court resumed, Judge William Sullivan issued a reminder to jurors that they should separate emotions from the facts of the case, despite the upsetting nature of the evidence.
Following Dr Stonebridge’s testimony, Dr Barbara Olson was called by prosecutors. She described how Cora had neck, arm, and leg injuries and that Dawson died of asphyxia.
As she listened to details of the injuries she inflicted on her children, Clancy put her head in her hands on the desk and continued sobbing.
Crying loudly, she then said, ‘I can’t do this,’ prompting Judge Sullivan to order another break, at which point, she was comforted and taken out of the room by nurses.
Lindsay’s attorney has claimed that she had bipolar disorder, and that an antidepressant prescribed to Lindsay following Callan’s birth worsened her condition.
Patrick, who has now married Dr Rachel Danis after divorcing Lindsay, also testified about his ex-wife’s deteriorating mental health leading up to the killings, saying that Lindsay had told him she had experienced thoughts of suicide as well as intrusive thoughts about hurting their children.
Lindsay sought help from specialists in postpartum mental health and was put on several medications before checking into a psychiatric hospital.
She was discharged from their care, and killed her children 19 days later on January 24, 2023.
Lindsay and Patrick have accused medical professionals of failing to properly diagnose, treat, and monitor her ahead of the deaths.
Prosecutors, however, allege that Lindsay deliberately sent Patrick out of their home on an errand to give her enough time to strangle the children to death with exercise resistance bands.
The trial continues.
