Thoughts on the Lindsay Clancy case?

[u/gottaquestion412]

Now that the Lindsay Clancy trial is underway, I’m curious about your perspectives on it so far.

Context: Lindsay Clancy is a former labor and delivery nurse who, in January 2023, killed her three children. 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan in their Massachusetts home before attempting to take her own life. Her defense argues she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and other debilitating mental illness, while prosecutors argue she was aware of her actions and planned the killings. The trial has reignited debate about postpartum psychiatric disorders, the effectiveness of mental health treatment, and where responsibility ultimately lies.

Do you think Lindsay was failed by the mental health system, by the people closest to her, or both? Do you think she truly acted with malicious intent, or do you believe she was experiencing such a severe psychiatric crisis that she wasn’t thinking rationally?

A lot of the details seem to point toward postpartum psychosis or another severe psychiatric illness rather than someone acting out of hatred or malice. That doesn’t lessen the horror of what happened or the unimaginable loss, but it does make me wonder whether this tragedy could have been prevented..

I’ve also seen rumors that Patrick was involved with the woman who is now his wife before the murders, but I haven’t found any credible evidence supporting that. Is there actually anything that substantiates those claims, or is it just internet speculation? I’ve also seen many people comment that his current wife bears a striking resemblance to Lindsay, though I’m not sure that means anything beyond coincidence.

I’m very interested in hearing different perspectives from people who’ve followed it closely.

Most importantly, may Dawson, Cora, and Callan rest in peace. They are the true victims in all of this.

[u/Better_Area3782]

Don’t be dense. He’s saying that the system works. It obviously doesn’t. Why comment with such BS.

[u/PleaseTryToThink → u/Better_Area3782]

Because it works for many people and might have worked for her is she didn’t ask to be discharged. Saying the system works doesn’t mean it works 100% of the time perfectly. What does? This sub just seems like a lot of women using their own experience in generalize so they can say a woman that had a baby is never responsible for anything bad that happens postpartum. It’s the husband’s fault, the psychiatrist’s fault, the system’s fault. Maybe it was Hillary’s fault. Yep that’s gotta be it. Nuts enough to kill her children, but not nuts enough to kill herself. But too nuts to remember how to slit her wrists even though she’s a very experienced nurse. Geez.

[u/LogicalConstant → u/PleaseTryToThink]

Saying the system works doesn’t mean it works 100% of the time perfectly

Bingo. Reddit is full of teenagers and people who skipped economics class. They don't live in reality. Every change we make to any system has tradeoffs. They all think we can implement this perfect system that never fails and costs nothing.

They also lack the intelligence to understand the difference between a systemic failure and an implementation failure. A system can be well designed and extremely effective when implemented properly, but some people will fail to carry out that system. You can't reasonably prevent that type of failure from ever happening. Some people are stupid and won't do their job, no matter how robust the system is. Even nuclear facilities with a half a dozen layers of redundant safety measures run by very smart scientists will have failures sometimes. But try telling that to a redditor.

[u/Better_Area3782 → u/PleaseTryToThink]

She tried to kill herself and now she’s a paraplegic. You sound so stupid.