Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has offered "asylum" to the sole holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy triple-murder trial, accusing the media of attempting to smear the juror after reports surfaced regarding his past.
DeSantis's intervention came after NBC Boston reported that the unidentified juror had previously faced a domestic violence charge and was subject to an active restraining order. The domestic violence charge was later dismissed. The juror was the only one on the 11-1 panel who did not agree to a verdict of not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, leading to a mistrial declared on September 4.
"A man objected to allowing a woman to kill her three young kids and get away with it, so NBC is trying to smear that juror, whose identity should be protected," DeSantis wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Another low for legacy media."
He added, "If the juror is being harassed, Florida will provide asylum - I'm sure he'd be welcomed and appreciated."
Clancy, a former nurse, is accused of killing her three children—Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan—at their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023. Her defense argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and lacked criminal responsibility.
Reports from NBC Boston detail that the juror was charged in 2021 following an alleged altercation with his then-wife. According to a police report, his nephew alleged that the juror grabbed his aunt by the throat and pushed her into a dresser. The charge was dismissed, and the couple later divorced. The same nephew reportedly obtained a restraining order against the juror last year after another alleged confrontation. The restraining order was reportedly active when he was selected for the jury. The juror's questionnaire responses regarding prior charges or court orders are not publicly available, and no determination has been made that he provided false information during jury selection.
Further scrutiny emerged regarding the juror's financial situation. His landlord told the Daily Mail that the juror had fallen behind on rent for his two-bedroom rental, owing over $12,000 in unpaid rent while the jury was deliberating. A default judgment was entered against the juror for the unpaid rent, and the landlord indicated an intent to evict him.