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After a lengthy delay on Friday, a Massachusetts judge finally declared a mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial.

Clancy was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her three children in five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan Clancy.

“It is with a heavy heart that we report we are unable to come to a unanimous decision,” the jury’s note to the judge said.

Over the course of seven days, the nine women and three-man jury poured over the case for more than 36 hours. On two occasions, they told Sullivan they were deadlocked. The judge sent them back on both occasions to try again.

It was a case that brought postpartum psychosis front and centre, while drawing attention in the United States and internationally.

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Because a mistrial is not official until the decision is read in front of the jury, defence attorney Kevin Reddington requested an appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court for a stay of declaration.

An emergency stay halted the mistrial while the defence asked a higher court to intervene.

The judge gave Reddington one hour to accomplish his task. A hearing was then scheduled for 1:30 p.m., with Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt. Less than an hour later, Argaez Wendlandt issued her decision not to intervene in the proceedings.

Judge officially declared a mistrial

At 2:22 p.m. ET, Judge Sullivan called the jury back and officially declared a mistrial.

Her defense did not argue whether Clancy killed her children, instead they argued she was not criminally responsible because she was mentally ill with postpartum psychosis (PPP).

According to the Cleveland Clinic, “PPP is a reversible – but severe – mental health condition that affects people after they give birth. This condition is rare, but it’s also dangerous. It is a condition that disrupts a person’s sense of reality after they give birth.”

“People with postpartum psychosis have a much higher risk of harming themselves, dying by suicide or harming their children.”

Under Massachusetts law, a defendant is not guilty if they did lack criminal responsibility when committing the offense.

The prosecution argued that the killings were planned and intentional.

More than 80 witnesses testified during the trial, many addressing Clancy’s mental state and treatment.

ganderson@postmedia.com