Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer has asked President Donald Trump to consider pardoning the Massachusetts mother days after her murder trial ended in a mistrial, even though the charges against her were brought under state law and fall outside the president’s constitutional pardon power.
Attorney Kevin Reddington made the appeal during an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America on Tuesday, asking Trump to consider Clancy’s circumstances and what she had been through. The request follows Trump’s public comments last week that he had been following the closely watched trial.
Clancy, 36, was charged over the January 2023 deaths of her three children at the family home in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Her nearly six-week trial ended on September 4 after jurors repeatedly told Judge William Sullivan they could not reach a unanimous verdict.
The defense argued that Clancy was not guilty by reason of insanity and said she was experiencing a psychotic episode associated with postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings. Prosecutors rejected that argument and maintained that the deaths were premeditated and that Clancy understood the nature and wrongfulness of her actions.
The pardon request, however, carries a major legal limitation. The U.S. Constitution gives presidents power to grant clemency for federal offences, while Clancy is being prosecuted by Massachusetts authorities under state law. A presidential pardon could therefore not erase or terminate the state prosecution.
Trump has previously attempted to extend clemency to a defendant convicted under state law. In December 2025, he announced a pardon for former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters, but the action was widely regarded as symbolic because her conviction was in state court. Colorado Governor Jared Polis later granted Peters clemency in May.
Asked about Reddington’s request, the White House referred to Trump’s earlier remarks on the case. After the mistrial was declared, Trump described the killings as horrific and said Clancy would still face consequences, mentioning the possibility of imprisonment or institutionalisation.
Newspot Nigeria previously reported that the mistrial left prosecutors with the option of trying Clancy again. Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said after the jury deadlock that his office had not yet decided whether to pursue a retrial.
Clancy remains in custody at a state psychiatric hospital while the case continues. Her next court appearance is scheduled for September 29, when the direction of the prosecution could become clearer.
