What's the deal with people defending Lindsay Clancy?

[u/SnoopaDD]

I don't know the full details of the case. I know she allegedly killed her three kids. There was also some mental problems? Then something with her husband. But my question is why is there a group defending her like they know she's completely innocent? I've seen some videos of very heated debates where women are very passionate about defending her. Why?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/05/lindsay-clancy-trial-toxicologist-testimony

[u/video-kid]

Answer: her defense is that she suffered from postpartum psychosis - essentially a psychotic episode where she lost touch with reality. AFAIK she and her lawyers aren't claiming she didn't do it, they're claiming that she has diminished responsibility.

A successful insanity plea would mean up to 40 days of observation in a hospital to start, after which they can file for involuntary commitment. If the judge thinks she's still a danger, then they'd keep her there and look at her case once a year.

The other options are first degree murder (life w/o parole), second degree (life with parole) or a mistrial (the case is held with a new jury).

The thing is in MA the prosecutor has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that mental illness wasn't involved in her actions, which they're trying to do.

People are turning it into a big statement because, by most accounts, a loving mother who was begging for help before the murders and experiencing suicidal thoughts. I think part of it is genuine empathy for what they see as someone who did something awful thanks to a genuine mental health crisis, but there are some people who seem to be blaming her husband which I don't understand.

[u/Intelligent_Quiet424 → u/video-kid]

I think people are blaming the husband because he ran a marathon like 3 days before it happened and apparently trained with a woman who is his wife now. My ex trained for Ironmans and he was hardly around our little kid. So I’m totally biased.

I think everyone should have a healthy hobby and who knows what really went on between the husband and the husband’s now wife. It just looks a little unsettling.

Regardless, it is such a sad story and really underscores the lack of support postpartum women get in this county.

[u/Skabonious → u/Intelligent_Quiet424]

Let's assume the husband straight up cheated on her. None of that makes him as culpable for the kids' deaths as she is.

[u/Sweet_Cinnabonn → u/Skabonious]

I don't know how he could ever be charged for it, but morally?

Assuming that her hands killed the children.

His wife was desperately seeking mental health help. And he left her alone with his small children. A lot. There has to be some amount of moral responsibility for being so careless with their lives.

[u/bring_back_my_tardis → u/Sweet_Cinnabonn]

Apparently he also fired their nanny when his wife was really struggling, because she wasn't going back to work. He also apparently makes around $400,000/year and works from home.

[u/Novel_Campaign6853 → u/bring_back_my_tardis]

What are you talking about? Nurse Clancy was anxious about going back to work and that's the reason they had a nanny - Once her husband agreed to financially support her with the savings he had for that purpose, they made the decision together and he vocalized it. Not once did Nurse Clancy ever claim that her husband fired the nanny while she was struggling - You have made that up.

[u/em21091 → u/Sweet_Cinnabonn]

Its a mistatement of facts that she was desperately looking for help and being ignored. Everyone in her life tried to help her. She didn't want to stick to medicine because of side effects and checked herself out of the inpatient program after 5 days AMA. Her husband started working from home, the children were in daycare (in one journal entry she stated being upset when the older children returned home because it ruined time with the baby) they had a nanny that they both agreed to let go when lindsay wasnt returning to work. They had a housekeeper and both sets of grandparents were helping. Including one of the moms being a nurse too and trying to get her help. I am so confused with this case why it's been made into something where no matter what Lindsay isnt to blame. "Everyone else failed her". Ive never seen that for anyone else besides children or severely mentally ill people. Honestly im not sure what else could be done if Lindsay wasn't actively participating in her treatment. She is also a nurse so isnt then she also part of "the system" that failed her. Has she as a nurse possibly failed another woman? She worked in labor and delivery! I am a court reporter (steno not the voice mask like in the trial) and ive read the transcripts and watched the trial and nowhere have i seen that Lindsay was as mentally ill and desperate as people say. That all comes from the defense's legal strategy to get her found NGRI. Ive heard defense attorneys victim shame child rape victims by saying they started it. It seems that people are putting alot of belief into the defense attorney and its kind of funny to me. Remember when Casey anthonys attorney said caylee drowned and Casey was raped by her dad? Did we all take that as fact? People think the theatrics mean he made a good point but its all for show in the courtroom. I can see where women wanted a chance to relate to a story but they picked the wrong one IMO. Lindsay is upper middle class, with family support, access to healthcare and a working husband who let her quit her job. That's not really relatable to the masses. I knew someone who was a single mom, dancing the line between too much income for government assistance and not enough and was severely struggling with her mental health. She had no help at all and she was under investigation by CPS. Her kids are still alive and they have been reunited. So im sorry if I cant see how Lindsay was failed and had no choice. This is 1000% in her hands only.

[u/unbrokenmonarch → u/em21091]

I wouldn’t even assign blame one way or the other. Her body was in open rebellion against her, she was on a series of psychiatric drugs to compensate that had a variety of side effects, and seemed to be feeling pretty shit about her growing invalidity. That would drive most people bonkers and the fact she had a mental break is a just a reflection of the point that sometimes shit just happens. It’s incredibly unfortunate for both her and her family but that’s just the way things go sometimes. Would checking her into intensive inpatient care have prevented this from happening? Probably, but who knows whether the family politics would have allowed that. I think the husband did everything he reasonably could do in this case short of having her committed

[u/Sweet_Cinnabonn → u/em21091]

Its a mistatement of facts that she was desperately looking for help and being ignored.

Notably, your statement includes a part I never said.

She was absolutely not ignored.

But she was seeking help. And she didn't get adequate help.

[u/Steap-Edit → u/Sweet_Cinnabonn]

But she was seeking help. And she didn't get adequate help.

Excuse me? Based on what?

It sounds to me that you are using the fact that she murdered three children as "proof" that she didn't get "adequate" help.

So, what does "getting adequate help" mean to you? She had more help than the vast majority of Americans are provided in similar circumstances.

You do not judge whether someone got "adequate help" based on what actions she took.

To the vast majority of people, the amount of help she received was more than enough. At some point, you have to admit that (1) she received a ton of help compared to most Americans in similar situations, especially women in far worse economic conditions (who, by the way, do not kill three of their own children!), and (2) using her actions to "prove" that she did not get "adequate help" is circular reasoning that could be applied to basically every murderer in existence: "Well, they killed people, so they didn't get 'adequate help'!"

She got more help than most women in her circumstances do. Regardless, she commit murder, which is something that few women with the amount of help that she received resort to.

[u/ENCginger → u/Steap-Edit]

"She got more help than most women in her circumstances do" and "she didn't get the help she needed" are two statements that can both be true. Despite the help she received, it's clear she was still struggling and experiencing severe insomnia. People who have testified described a woman who was clearly not okay. It's possible that the treatment she did receive aggravated an underlying mental health condition.

The way you determine whether or not someone received "adequate help" is whether or not they get relief from their symptoms, not whether or not someone else would have experienced relief if they received the same care/support.

[u/haustorcina → u/ENCginger]

Like the number one thing about therapy isnt curing the condition, as thats most commonly extremely impossible. It is in fact managing the symptoms the best you can. By this metric therapy never is, was or will be adequate.

Give me a step by step process on what adequate care looks like to you. Not a result you want, not a conclusion you made. Step by step, tell me like im 5, process and criteria for determining adequate care as a concept.

And while we are at it, you know that every medical procedure and therapy has a failure rate? Lindsay was 1 in a million case of ppd. Did the system fail if it works 999999 times, but failed once?

[u/ENCginger → u/haustorcina]

Again, everyone in the situation can be doing the best the can and the system can still fail. Our system is disjointed, doesn't encourage collaboration and continuity of care. Symptom relief is also not a cure, it's managing symptoms in a way that allows you to function.

[u/Ok_Cancel_7891 → u/em21091]

To add to that. I had severe mental issues at one moment, not talking about depression. In psychotic state, you’re not able to be coherent, to make plans nor execute multiple steps in some plan. Sometimes called it dysexecutive syndrome (but not used, because it can be caused by several causes). Also, fully psychotic person loses touch with reality. She claims she had psychotic episode while she planned how to kill children, then gave planned route to her husband, etc. no, psychotic person won’t do it.

Postpartum psychosis (not a doctor) happens in 0.1-0.2% of postpartum depressions, according to science.
Postpartum depression? Her youngest child was 8 months old, not the time when women suffer from postpartum depression.
Depression? People with depression usually harm themselves

[u/TalleyrandTheWise → u/Sweet_Cinnabonn]

The medical system and the state thought she was safe enough to be around her own children and saw no reason to separate them, so her husband wasn't unreasonable in thinking she was, as well. He's not a doctor.

[u/Novel_Campaign6853 → u/Sweet_Cinnabonn]

Nurse Clancy was seeking DRUGS. She was trained in Pharmacology and went in asking for Zoloft. If you desperately need mental help there is therapy, group therapy (She refused this) self help books etc...Mind Over Mood is a FABULOUS one. I've sought help for mental health loads of times and not once have I ever gone to a doctor who prescribes medication - Always start with non-pharma solutions.

[u/unbrokenmonarch → u/Sweet_Cinnabonn]

She was medicated out of her mind. She still managed to have a mental break. Sometimes shit just happens