US Marine and Fox News commentator Dakota Meyer has voiced strong disapproval of the attention given to Lindsay Clancy's emotional state following a mistrial in the case of her three children's deaths.
Clancy, 36, faces a retrial after a jury could not reach a unanimous decision on whether she was guilty of murder or manslaughter in the January 2023 deaths of her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 18-month-old Callan, in Duxbury, Massachusetts. During a Fox News appearance, Meyer stated, "Who cares how she's feeling? Nobody cares." He added, "The reality is I hope she is suffering a tenth of what her child was suffering as she stood behind her child with her fan, with her workout band and she choked and listened and felt her child squirm and fight against this, and worry about how this woman's feeling?"
Meyer, a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan, described attempts to empathize with Clancy as "absurd and appalling." He argued that focusing on her feelings distracts from seeking justice for her children, whom he called "innocent children who this woman brutally murdered."
He further drew a comparison to individuals he had encountered in combat, stating, "I've probably taken the lives of men who deserved it less than this woman." Meyer's comments were made on Friday afternoon, shortly after the mistrial was declared by Judge William Sullivan at Plymouth Superior Court.
Clancy admits to strangling her children with exercise bands but claims she was suffering from postpartum depression and psychosis due to prescribed medication. She attempted suicide by jumping from an upstairs window shortly after the killings, an act that left her paralyzed and in a wheelchair. The jury deliberated for over 37 hours across five-and-a-half weeks of evidence before ultimately failing to reach a verdict. One juror reportedly refused to align with the others.
Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington, sought an emergency order for further deliberations, but a hearing before a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the judge's decision to declare a mistrial. Clancy remains in a psychiatric hospital, awaiting resolution of her case. Prosecutor Tim Cruz has not officially confirmed plans for a retrial, but it is considered likely. He has previously maintained that the killings were deliberate and calculated murder. A new hearing is scheduled for September 29, with prosecutors potentially opting for identical charges, lesser charges, or a judge-decided verdict.
Clancy's ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, who was the trial's first witness, has stated he forgives her and believes her actions were a result of mental illness. A statement released by his attorney indicated that the prospect of reliving the tragedy through another trial is "extraordinarily painful."