A Massachusetts judge has locked down the identities of all jurors who served in the Lindsay Clancy triple-murder trial after at least one juror personally requested protection from ongoing harassment and doxxing campaigns that erupted following the controversial mistrial.
Judge William Sullivan issued the indefinite impoundment order Monday, extending what had initially been a two-week seal on the jury list. The order keeps the names of all jurors and alternates hidden from public view unless Sullivan himself lifts the restriction.
The move comes after social media users hunted down jurors’ personal information, and one individual was arrested for secretly recording jurors as they left the courthouse. Sullivan cited “a significant number of posts in various social media platforms” that raised serious concerns about juror safety.
“Based on the circumstances of this trial and the fact that the case continues to receive daily, divisive attention in Massachusetts and beyond, the Court concludes that there is a real and present ‘risk of [personal] harm to the jurors [and] to the integrity of their service,'” the order states.
At least five jurors have already gone public with their identities and spoken to media outlets. Three women complained to the press just days after the mistrial that the holdout juror was “arrogant” and dismissed the medical expertise of fellow jurors who worked as nurses.
One juror, Paula Devlin, revealed last week that the lone holdout was a black male and the only minority on an otherwise all-white panel. Devlin also made a stunning admission on “CBS Saturday Morning” that should trouble anyone who believes in impartial justice. She said her decision to find Clancy not guilty by reason of insanity was motivated by a desire to “change something” rather than simply weigh the evidence.
“Even though we didn’t know what was going on outside of our little bubble that we were in, we knew that this was a turning point and this would be something that could change something, to make it better for other women in the future, for other families,” Devlin said. “You know, justice for those children is this never happening again.”
Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, has admitted to killing her three children in the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023. She strangled 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan one at a time using exercise bands. Her defense centered on claiming she was not criminally responsible by reason of insanity.
The mother remains in custody at Tewksbury Hospital, a state-run psychiatric facility where she has been held since 2023.
Sullivan noted in his order that jurors remain free to identify themselves or speak publicly if they choose, but the court will not release their information given the “risk of immediate and irreparable injury” should the list become available.
