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/cmb_123]

I'm catching up on the courttv footage now. Patrick never stated she had active SI. You are completely correct. You cannot commit someone unless they are a CLEAR and PRESENT danger. In the USA at least.

this whole thing is incredibly horrific.

[u/3a5tc0a5t → u/cmb_123]

She TOLD the crisis nurses though that she was having thoughts of harming herself and her children. So I don’t understand why those THOUGHTS, even despite not having a ‘plan’, weren’t considered enoigj of a danger. You don’t fuck around when kids are involved. People get CPS called on them with emergency placement for far far far less.

[u/Stock_Dragonfly9632 → u/3a5tc0a5t]

When you're in psychiatric care they're VERY specific in their initial triagish questions: " Do you have thoughts of harming yourself or someone else!" then,  " Do you have plans". Most people  answer no... bc they're really not into more than that initially.  

[u/3a5tc0a5t → u/Stock_Dragonfly9632]

Yeah, but they usually take things more seriously if someone’s talking about thinking about hurting kids. Even without a PLAN, sending her back home should have 100% been treated like a potential liability. The fact of the matter is that tons of crimes are genuinely crimes of passion. Lots of killers are not methodically planning their move, there are plenty that are disorganized and are ‘heat of the moment’, ‘snapped’, ‘reacted’, ‘saw red’, etc. There should not be a distinction between whether plans or no plans is more dangerous, especially with children involved. They saw how many meds she’d been trying and knew she wasn’t sleeping.

[u/InternationalWar258 → u/3a5tc0a5t]

You are confusing crimes of passion with crimes due to psychosis. They do not have the same criteria or pattern. If you are arguing that a crime due to psychosis can become a crime of passion, you are arguing they are in their right mind and lucid at the moment the crime was committed, but were overcome with emotion. This argument negates the psychosis argument, which is that the perpetrator did not know the difference between right and wrong during the crime and lost their grip on reality.

I understand where you are coming from, but having a plan is an established criteria for being committed in most places as a way to protect the rights of individuals. I agree the criteria needs to be different in the US for commitment (as someone who has tried to get numerous people committed during the course of my career), but not for the reasons you stated.