Clancy’s lawyer asked Trump for a pardon the president has no power to grant

Presidential pardons reach only federal offenses, which makes what Lindsay Clancy’s attorney said on national television unusual. Kevin Reddington used a Good Morning America appearance to appeal directly to Donald Trump, asking him to consider the person his client is and grant a pardon. It was Reddington’s first interview since the mistrial.

Clancy was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan, at the family’s home in Duxbury. She pleaded not guilty. Her five-week trial ended without a verdict after more than a week of deliberations.

Trump had commented on the case days earlier, saying he had been following it because it was on television constantly. He called it a horrible tragedy and said he assumed there would be another trial, adding that there would be a price to pay whether that meant a mental institution or jail. Asked about the pardon request, the White House pointed back to those remarks.

He is asking the one official in America who cannot help her

Clancy faced state charges brought by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and she was never convicted, which puts her outside federal clemency entirely. Any request would have to go to state authorities. Reddington offered no explanation for the appeal beyond noting that Trump had felt compelled to speak about the case.

The defense argued throughout that Clancy was suffering postpartum psychosis and acting on auditory hallucinations, a case the attorney built around illness rather than intent. Prosecutors countered that she understood her actions and planned them, pointing to her sending her husband out on an errand beforehand. She does not dispute causing the deaths, only whether she was criminally responsible.

Clancy attempted suicide afterward and was left paralyzed, and she has used a wheelchair since. She was 36 at the time of trial and had worked as a labor and delivery nurse.

The jury deadlocked, and Reddington believes an acquittal was within reach. Notes later showed the panel split 11 to 1 in favor of acquittal. The dispute centered on one juror and whether the judge’s instructions were being followed during deliberations.

Reddington’s more consequential comments concerned a possible resolution. He described Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz as a hard-charging and conservative prosecutor, and said he hopes Cruz revisits the case now that he has seen how the evidence landed. He added that he hopes the two sides can work out something acceptable to both.

Cruz has made no commitment. He said outside the courthouse that the job is to set aside feelings and focus on facts, and that the evidence suggested to his office that Clancy was in control of her actions. It’s important to note that no plea agreement exists and no decision on a retrial has been announced.

Judge William Sullivan has set a hearing for later this month, where Reddington is expected to ask the judge to declare Clancy not guilty outright, a long shot that rarely succeeds. That proceeding could also reveal whether Cruz intends to retry the case, seek a plea, or drop it.