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Trial day 26 of 28 · Wednesday · Deliberations

September 2, 2026

In a fifth day of deliberating, the jury told Judge Sullivan for a second time it could not reach a unanimous decision. He read them the Tuey-Rodriguez charge, urging one final attempt before a mistrial. Jurors continued until being sent home around 4 p.m. with no verdict and return Thursday.

Coverage: reported. Multiple outlets described this day's proceedings. This is a summary of press reporting, not a transcript and not a record of what anyone said. All trial days · This day at clancytrial.org

What mattered

Key points 15

  • OUTSIDE THE COURTHOUSE WEDNESDAY MORNING, DEFENSE ATTORNEY KEVIN REDDINGTON CALLED THE CONTINUED DELIBERATIONS “very heartening.” “The fact that they have not said that they’re done is very, very heartening,” he told reporters. “They’re obviously working very hard... They kept at it. I think they’re showing that they’re more than willing to keep working at it.” Asked whether the impasse favored the defense, he cautioned against reading a sign into it either way: “I don’t know that it’s a good sign or a bad sign or any sign. It’s that they’re working hard to try to come to a decision.” Boston Globe, September 2, 8:00 a.m.
  • REDDINGTON ALSO SAID CLANCY IS NOT EMOTIONALLY PREPARED FOR A POTENTIAL RETRIAL. Asked whether his client was ready to go through the case again if the jury could not reach a verdict, he said, “No.” He again described her as showing little emotion: “She doesn’t have a mindset. She just listens and sits there and I try to let her know what’s going on, but she has a very flat affect.” CNN, September 2, 8:47 a.m.
  • SULLIVAN QUESTIONED ALL EIGHTEEN JURORS INDIVIDUALLY BEFORE DELIBERATIONS RESUMED, a day after a Sutton woman was arrested outside the courthouse on a witness and juror intimidation charge; CNN's reporters in the courtroom could not hear the exchanges. Boston Globe, September 2, 9:13 and 9:17 a.m.; CNN, September 2, 9:24 a.m.
  • THE JURY GOES INTO A FIFTH DAY WITH ABOUT TWENTY-THREE HOURS BEHIND IT. CNN put Tuesday's session at about six hours, bringing the panel's total across the first four days to roughly twenty-three, with no verdict returned on any of the three counts. CNN, September 1, 3:32 p.m.
  • REDDINGTON, ASKED ABOUT WEDNESDAY'S SESSION BEFORE COURT OPENED, WOULD NOT PREDICT AN OUTCOME. “We'll see what they do today. They've been obviously incredibly hardworking, and we'll see how it works out today,” he said. Boston.com, September 2, 9:09 a.m.
  • A VERDICT AFTER THE TUEY-RODRIGUEZ CHARGE IS RARE BUT NOT UNHEARD OF. The Boston Globe cited the 2024 murder conviction of Emanuel Lopes, whose jury returned a verdict after receiving the charge twice, following a mistrial in an earlier trial for the same case. Boston Globe, September 2, 2:30 p.m.
  • THE CHARGE HAS ALSO PRECEDED A MISTRIAL RATHER THAN A VERDICT. CNN, explaining the Tuey-Rodriguez instruction — known nationally as an Allen charge — noted that the judge in Karen Read's first murder trial read it to a deadlocked jury in 2024, after which that jury still could not reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared. CNN, September 2, 2:41 p.m.
  • CNN REPORTED ON WHAT WOULD FOLLOW A MISTRIAL, CITING LEGAL ANALYSTS: prosecutors would likely announce intent to retry the case, and Clancy would return to Tewksbury State Hospital, held without bail, until a new trial date; if prosecutors instead declined to retry, she would remain hospitalized until the district attorney's office dropped the charges, at which point she would be released. CNN, September 2, 2:33 p.m.
  • FORMER PALM BEACH COUNTY STATE ATTORNEY DAVE ARONBERG TOLD CNN THE JURY IS NOW IN “THE FOURTH QUARTER OF THE GAME”: having already received the Tuey-Rodriguez charge, Massachusetts law bars the judge from giving it again unless the jury consents, so a further deadlock would move the case toward a mistrial. CNN, September 2, 2:50 p.m.
  • MASSACHUSETTS LAW LIMITS HOW MANY TIMES A DEADLOCKED JURY CAN BE SENT BACK WITHOUT ITS CONSENT. The Boston Globe noted the statute holds that jurors who return a second time without a verdict "shall not be sent out again without their own consent, unless they ask from the court some further explanation of the law"; the panel has now reported deadlock twice, though Sullivan gave the Tuey-Rodriguez charge only after the second report. Boston Globe, September 2, 3:33 p.m.
  • A RECENTLY RETIRED SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE SAID THE TUEY-RODRIGUEZ CHARGE IS ORDINARILY GIVEN ONLY ONCE. Thomas Drechsler told the Boston Globe that while a judge keeps some discretion to fashion a further instruction depending on what a jury asks, the charge typically either produces a verdict or is followed by a mistrial. Boston Globe, September 2, 3:40 p.m.
  • A FORMER PROSECUTOR TOLD CNN HE EXPECTS THE CASE TO BE RETRIED IF IT ENDS IN A MISTRIAL. Mark Eiglarsh said the case is too high-profile for Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz not to pursue a second trial, arguing prosecutors have political reasons to avoid appearing to go easy on the charges. CNN, September 2, 3:35 p.m.
  • CNN SET THE JURY'S NEARLY THIRTY HOURS OF DELIBERATION AGAINST TWO OTHER CLOSELY WATCHED CASES. A Texas jury acquitted Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children, of capital murder on an insanity theory after about thirteen hours over three days, following an earlier conviction that was overturned for erroneous expert testimony; a Massachusetts jury acquitted Karen Read, tried in her boyfriend's death, after about twenty-one hours over four days, following a first trial that ended in a hung jury and mistrial. CNN, September 2, 4:44 p.m.
  • DEFENSE ATTORNEY KEVIN REDDINGTON TOLD REPORTERS AFTER JURORS LEFT THAT HE WAS “VERY PROUD” OF THE PANEL, calling their effort “a tribute to the system” and saying he would not be surprised whether they returned with a verdict or asked to stop. He said that if the case ends in a mistrial, he would try it again “next week.” He also said Clancy had been “upset” and “sad” that day, and that he does his best to keep her mind occupied when he talks with her. CNN, September 2, 4:48 p.m.
  • REDDINGTON, LEAVING THE COURTHOUSE LATER, SAID HE IS PREPARED TO RETRY THE CASE IMMEDIATELY IF THE JURY STAYS DEADLOCKED AND SULLIVAN DECLARES A MISTRIAL. “If they come back with a verdict, we’ll see what it is. If they don’t, we’re ready to try it next,” he told reporters, and when asked again said, “Ready right now.” He said he expects Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz to pursue first-degree murder charges again in a retrial. Boston Globe, September 2, 5:56 p.m.

On the stand

Witnesses 0

The archive records no witnesses for this day.

From the bench

Rulings 3

  1. 10:47The judge — named by the Boston Globe as Shelby M. Smith — released Light without cash bail, ordered her to stay away from the courthouse and have no contact with jurors on the Clancy case, and barred her from releasing any photos or video of the jurors, including any stored in the cloud. CNN, September 2, 10:47 a.m.; Boston Globe, September 2, 11:12 a.m.
  2. 13:45Court records reviewed by CNN showed Judge Sullivan's written finding from the morning's individual juror questioning: that all eighteen jurors, deliberating and alternate, were fair and impartial and could remain on the panel. CNN's account also described Light as a retired nurse. CNN, September 2, 1:45 p.m.
  3. 14:23After the jury reported for a second time that it was deadlocked, Judge Sullivan read jurors the Tuey-Rodriguez charge, an instruction sometimes called the “dynamite charge” that urges a jury to make one further attempt at a unanimous verdict before a mistrial is declared. Boston Globe, September 2, 2:23 p.m.; CNN, September 2, 2:24 p.m.

In sequence

Procedural 26

  1. 09:11Court opened for a fifth day of deliberations. Judge William Sullivan took the bench, greeted the parties and called them to a sidebar. Boston Globe, September 2, 9:11 a.m.; CNN, September 2, 9:11 a.m.
  2. 09:13Judge Sullivan warned the courtroom that his order and state statutes barring interference with jurors and witnesses remained in force and would be enforced, before questioning jurors individually. Boston Globe, September 2, 9:13 a.m.
  3. 09:17Judge Sullivan questioned all eighteen jurors — the twelve deliberating and six alternates — individually at sidebar, asking each under oath whether they had seen or heard anything affecting their impartiality; Clancy's lawyer and the two prosecutors stood nearby listening to each response. Boston Globe, September 2, 9:17 a.m.; CNN, September 2, 9:24 a.m.
  4. 09:25Judge Sullivan concluded the individual questioning of the jurors, who then entered the courtroom. Boston Globe, September 2, 9:25 a.m.
  5. 09:31The jury resumed deliberating for a fifth day. After the juror questioning, Judge Sullivan greeted the panel from the bench, ran through his standard questions confirming they had avoided outside coverage of the case overnight, then sent them back out: “I’m going to ask you to resume your deliberations at this time. Thank you.” The jury was sent out at 9:30 a.m., with about twenty-three hours of deliberation behind it over the first four days. Boston Globe, September 2, 9:31 a.m.; CNN, September 2, 9:31 a.m.
  6. 10:30Dawn Light, the 56-year-old Sutton woman arrested Tuesday outside the courthouse, pleaded not guilty at arraignment to a charge the Boston Globe reported as aggravated intimidation of a witness and ABC News reported as aggravated intimidation of a juror. CBS Boston reported she was released on her promise to return to court October 15; ABC News described that date as a preliminary hearing. CBS Boston's account names Plymouth Superior Court as the venue, while an earlier Boston Globe report named Plymouth District Court as where the arraignment was scheduled; the discrepancy is unresolved. Boston Globe, September 2, 10:30 a.m.; CBS Boston, September 2; ABC News, September 2.
  7. 10:31Outside court, Light told reporters in a media scrum that she had not recorded the jury and had only wanted to see Clancy: “I just wanted to see Lindsay,” she said. The Boston Globe reported that a state trooper who spoke with her in the courthouse employee parking lot around 4 p.m. Tuesday found a video of jurors leaving the courthouse in the deleted files on her phone, according to a police report. Boston Globe, September 2, 10:31 a.m.
  8. 10:47At the arraignment, prosecutor Nicole Piacentini told the court Light had been in a restricted area of the courthouse parking lot with a view of the door jurors — whose identities are sealed by court order — use to enter and exit, that she denied taking any photos or video when officers approached her, and that officers who searched her phone with her permission found a deleted video of the jurors. “The sanctity of the judicial system is at risk because of her actions,” Piacentini said. “It’s an extremely serious matter for the commonwealth and the integrity of the proceedings.” CNN, September 2, 10:47 a.m.; Boston Globe, September 2, 11:00 a.m.
  9. 10:47Light's attorney, Jennifer White, called the episode a “complete misunderstanding,” telling the court, “My client was seeking a picture of Ms. Clancy and had no intention of any interaction with the jurors.” CNN, September 2, 10:47 a.m.; Boston Globe, September 2, 11:12 a.m.
  10. 11:12Piacentini told the court Light was not only recording jurors coming and going but had gone into a restricted area of the lot and been caught there. White, in response, told the court Light is a retired registered nurse with no criminal record who understands the seriousness of the charge; the Globe noted Light was already familiar to reporters covering the trial, having waited outside the courtroom on other days to watch proceedings. Boston Globe, September 2, 11:12 a.m.
  11. 11:36The jury's total deliberation time, spanning all five days, had reached roughly 25 hours as of late morning. Boston Globe, September 2, 11:36 a.m.
  12. 12:50CBS Boston put the jury's total deliberation time at about 26 hours. CBS Boston, September 2, 12:50 p.m.
  13. 12:35The mood among the courthouse crowd of trial observers, mostly Clancy supporters, felt more elevated as deliberations stretched toward lunchtime; some wandered the hallways or sat on benches outside in improved weather after Tuesday's rain. Boston Globe, September 2, 12:35 p.m.
  14. 13:08Jurors received lunch around 1 p.m., at roughly the 27-hour mark of deliberations, and continued deliberating while they ate; court staff went on their own lunch break until 2 p.m. Boston Globe, September 2, 1:08 p.m.; CNN, September 2, 1:13 p.m.
  15. 13:10Defense attorney Kevin Reddington briefly left the courthouse and returned carrying a bag of letters for Clancy. He called the jury's continued efforts to reach a verdict “amazing” and said it was up to the panel whether to keep deliberating through lunch. Boston Globe, September 2, 1:10 p.m.
  16. 14:02The court staff's lunch hour ended at 2 p.m. and the jury continued deliberating. Boston Globe, September 2, 2:02 p.m.
  17. 14:11The jury sent a question to the court. Boston Globe, September 2, 2:11 p.m.; CNN, September 2, 2:13 p.m.
  18. 14:18Judge Sullivan took the bench and called counsel to a sidebar to discuss what reporters in the courtroom believed was the jury's question; jurors were not present, and only white noise was audible from the gallery over the judge's speakers. Boston Globe, September 2, 2:18 p.m.
  19. 14:21CNN reported that the note the jury sent was a second deadlock notice, reading: “After much deliberation we are still unable to come to a unanimous decision.” The judge's response had not yet been reported. CNN, September 2, 2:21 p.m.
  20. 14:24As Judge Sullivan read the Tuey-Rodriguez charge, Clancy watched the jury with furrowed brows. Boston.com, September 2, 2:30 p.m.
  21. 14:27Judge Sullivan sent the jury back to continue deliberating after reading the Tuey-Rodriguez charge; a copy of the instruction went into the deliberation room with the panel. Boston Globe, September 2, 2:27 p.m.; CNN, September 2, 2:29 p.m.
  22. 14:35As jurors left the courtroom after the second deadlock report, defense attorney Kevin Reddington reached over and rubbed Clancy's back at the defense table; she appeared to lean into him briefly. The gallery was filled with media and Clancy supporters, including her parents and sister. Before the panel was brought in, Clancy had spoken with Reddington at the defense table; her parents and sister sat in their usual row behind the defense, next to Dr. Paul Zeizel, the psychologist who evaluated Clancy days after the killings. Most jurors looked down as they walked out to resume deliberating. Boston Globe, September 2, 2:35 p.m.; CNN, September 2, 2:41 p.m.
  23. 14:44Reddington asked Clancy whether she was all right as jurors filed out after the second deadlock report, and she nodded. ABC News put the panel's total deliberation time at nearly thirty hours across the five days. ABC News, September 2, 2:44 p.m.
  24. 15:12The Boston Globe described jurors as solemn, tired and giving nothing away with their expressions as Sullivan urged them to keep deliberating; it put the panel's total at about twenty-eight hours over five days. The hallway outside the courtroom was packed with media and a small group of Clancy supporters, with her parents and sister waiting in a nearby conference room. Boston Globe, September 2, 3:12 p.m.
  25. 16:07The jury was sent home for the day around 4 p.m. with no verdict on any of the three counts, after deliberating just under thirty hours across five days. Sullivan told jurors, “I know it's been a long day. Remember my instructions, you all know them. I will see everybody tomorrow morning,” and said deliberations would resume Thursday at 9 a.m. CNN, September 2, 4:07 p.m.; Boston Globe, September 2, 4:11 p.m.
  26. 16:42As the panel of nine women and three men left the courtroom, jurors looked weary and solemn; some stared blankly ahead or gave faint nods as Sullivan told them to return Thursday, one juror pursed her lips, another stood with her hands clasped in front of her, and two glanced toward the gallery. CNN, September 2, 4:42 p.m.

In evidence

Exhibits 0

The archive records no exhibits for this day.

As reported

Account

The jury returned to Plymouth Superior Court Wednesday morning for a fifth day of deliberating. Before sending the panel back in, Judge William Sullivan warned the courtroom that his order and state statutes barring interference with jurors and witnesses remained in force, then individually questioned all eighteen jurors — the twelve deliberating and six alternates — at sidebar to confirm none had seen or heard anything affecting their impartiality. The questioning followed the Tuesday arrest of a Sutton woman outside the courthouse, whom the Boston Globe identified as 56-year-old Dawn Light; the Globe reported she was charged with aggravated intimidation of a witness, and CBS Boston reported she pleaded not guilty at Wednesday's arraignment and was released on her promise to return to court October 15. Deliberations resumed at 9:30, with about twenty-three hours behind the panel over the first four days, and by late morning the total had grown to roughly 25 hours, reaching about 26 by early afternoon per CBS Boston and about 27 as jurors broke for lunch around 1 p.m. and continued deliberating while they ate, with no verdict returned on any of the three counts. The courthouse crowd, mostly Clancy supporters, described the mood as more elevated than earlier in the week as the jury kept working past the lunch hour. Shortly after 2 p.m. the jury sent a note to the court reading, per CNN, “After much deliberation we are still unable to come to a unanimous decision” — the second deadlock note in five days. Sullivan called counsel to a sidebar, then read jurors the Tuey-Rodriguez instruction, sometimes called the “dynamite charge,” urging them to make one further attempt at a unanimous verdict before a mistrial, and sent them back to keep deliberating; ABC News put the jury's total deliberation time at nearly thirty hours as it resumed. Earlier Tuesday the jury told Sullivan it could not reach a unanimous decision; he sent it back without further instruction, which Massachusetts law lets him do no more than twice without the jury's consent before the case moves toward a mistrial. Deliberations continued into the afternoon, and jurors were sent home around 4 p.m. with no verdict on any count, having deliberated just under thirty hours across the five days; Sullivan told them he knew it had been a long day and said they would resume Thursday morning at 9. What is in front of the jury is unchanged: three verdict slips, one for each child, and five choices on each — not guilty; not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility; guilty of murder in the first degree; guilty of murder in the second degree; guilty of manslaughter — with any verdict having to be unanimous. The only live issue is criminal responsibility, the defense having stipulated on August 4 to the acts. No witnesses are expected and there is no more evidence to be heard, the evidence having closed on Wednesday, August 26.

Index terms

Topics 10

  • jury deliberations
  • verdict slip
  • criminal responsibility
  • McHoul standard
  • alternates
  • commitment
  • exhibits
  • jury question
  • Tuey-Rodriguez charge
  • mistrial

Reporting relied on

Sources 10

Sources: globe-day-25, cnn-day-25, globe-day-26, cnn-day-26, cbs-day-26, globe-dawnlight-charge, boston-day-26, eastidaho-day-26, abc-day-26, nbcnews-day-26

Identifiers are the archive's own source keys; each links to the report it names where the archive gives a web address.

Mirror of the public trial reference at clancytrial.org, reproduced with its cautions intact. Nothing here is a conclusion about guilt or responsibility; the defendant is presumed innocent. Corrections: [email protected].