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A retired Massachusetts Superior Court judge says that a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity wouldn’t be an easy out for Lindsay Clancy, saying that “prosecution doctors” would be the ones deciding when she would be released, and are likely more inclined to keep her locked up.
Clancy, 36, faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children — Cora, Dawson and Callan, all under age 6 — who were found strangled at the family’s home in January 2023.
Retired Massachusetts Superior Judge Jack Lu told Fox News Digital that even if Clancy is found not guilty by reason of insanity, she would likely face a significant amount of time in a mental institution.
Lindsay Clancy and her attorney Kevin Reddington arrive for day 3 of deliberations in her murder trial. (Greg Derr/Pool The Patriot Ledger via AP)
He said a group of mental health officials would be responsible for periodically reviewing her commitment at the facility, but noted these are people who overwhelmingly side with prosecutors and usually testify on their behalf.
The empty Plymouth Superior Court jury box during the Lindsay Clancy murder trial in Plymouth Superior Court, Plymouth, Mass., on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (Greg Derr/Pool The Patriot Ledger via AP)
“They’re viewed as an arm of the prosecution,” Lu said of the officials. “I’m going to be very frank, they kind of view this through the lens of if in doubt, lock them up…The people making release decisions have a prosecutorial mindset.”
Lu said, if Clancy is committed to a mental hospital, “I imagine she’d be committed year after year after year for some period of time.”
“If you are committed on a mental health basis because of a major criminal case in Massachusetts, it is hard to get out… It is very difficult,” he said.
He said there is another way for Clancy to be released from a mental institution if found not guilty by reason of insanity, which would be through the courts.
“The other way she could get out is if the government kept moving to commit her and the doctors did not really decide that she should be released, and then it goes to court and then a judge would decide whether she is a danger to herself or others,” Lu said. “It could be more of a contested hearing, and if she were to win that contested hearing, that is the second way that she gets out.”
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Lindsay Clancy arrived for day 3 of deliberations. (Greg Derr/Pool The Patriot Ledger via AP)
Clancy’s case has drawn parallels with Constance Fisher, a then-24-year-old Maine woman who drowned her three children in a bathtub in 1954, according to the New York Times.
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She was committed to a mental hospital, and after several years, she returned home. She was accused of drowning three more children in 1967 and was sent back to the mental hospital, before she escaped and was found dead in the Kennebec River.
Callan, left, Dawson and Cora Clancy. The three children were killed at their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023. (Lindsay Marie Clancy/Facebook)
The jury in Clancy’s case, consisting of nine women and three men, led by a female foreperson, concluded a third day of deliberations on Monday without coming to a verdict.
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The jurors asked Judge William Sullivan around 4 p.m. to be dismissed for the day, and will return on Tuesday morning to continue deliberations.
Fox News senior national correspondent William La Jeunesse reports on search and rescue operations at the Grand Canyon after a flash flood left one person dead and 15 hikers missing. National Park Service teams evacuated dozens by helicopter as search crews scoured the Kaibab Trail and areas along the Colorado River to locate unaccounted individuals.
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The one pipeline that supplies water for millions of visitors in Grand Canyon was badly damaged by flash flooding over the weekend, setting up a complicated repair scenario and disrupting a yearslong project to upgrade the aging line across rugged terrain where helicopters are often needed for even basic maintenance.
Park officials estimate after conducting flyovers that about 40% of the pipeline sustained damage. The 12.5-mile long Transcanyon Waterline has suffered dozens of breaks in recent years. A more than $200 million repair and replacement project was well underway when the floods began.
The long-term impacts on the park’s infrastructure, visitors and year-round residents were not immediately clear.
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Floodwater and debris are seen in Bright Angel Canyon after a significant flash-flood event near Phantom Ranch on Aug. 29, 2026. (J. Thompson/NPS Photo)
“We anticipate miles of the pipeline being destroyed,” Grand Canyon Deputy Superintendent Brian Drapeaux said.
A full survey of the devastation will not be completed until Tuesday at the earliest.
At least two people died in the floods, and one person remained missing as of Monday night after roughly 80 people were rescued over the weekend, according to officials.
The park stopped overnight accommodations, with officials saying significant water reductions are needed. This includes limiting shower time, turning off the tap while brushing teeth and flushing toilets selectively to protect the limited stored water on the South Rim, where most visitors frequent.
“They have got to keep law enforcement going, they have to keep rescue operations going, backcountry operations, park admin going, the clinic and the campground,” longtime river runner and Grand Canyon hiker Tom Martin said, adding that the park has hauled water in tanker trucks in the past.
The pipeline, which was completed in the 1970s, has broken more than 85 times since 2010.
The pipeline moves water from one side of the canyon, down to its base, across a bridge and back up the other side of the rough landscape. Any attempt to fix a break from rock falls or flash floods is precarious and costly and can take time, so fixing the latest damage will be complicated.
Buildings are seen in a flood damaged Bright Angel Canyon at the Grand Canyon, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The pipeline upgrade project, which began in 2023, took more than a decade to design and fund. The project involves installing helicopter pads, building water treatment facilities and replacing several miles of pipeline. It also seeks to move the water intake for the pipeline further down the canyon to Bright Angel Creek, which would put it closer to Phantom Ranch, a popular lodge at the base of the canyon.
A 2018 evaluation of the project said key infrastructure for the intake would be outside of areas likely to flood.
Officials said even basic decisions proved to be complicated.
For example, the original pipe was aluminum, which is lighter and easier to move into the steep canyon but is more susceptible to breaking. Engineers chose a flex-steel material to balance weight and durability.
Even routine pipeline breaks lead to water restrictions. A decade ago, a hotel on the canyon’s rim that offers luxury dining and highlights its history hosting presidents had to reduce dishwashing and use paper plates and plastic utensils.
In 1995, a nearly month long repair on the pipeline required officials to truck in water.
The park had water conservation initiatives in place even before the latest flooding and damage.
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Tourists look down into the Grand Canyon off of the south rim, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, at Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. (AP Photo/Josh Biggs)
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The flooding has forced parts of the park to close, and more flooding was possible on Monday, according to the National Park Service.
“Consider changing your plans if you were going to hike, boat, or paddleboard to a slot canyon or normally dry wash. If you do still decide to recreate, check in at a nearby visitor center or ranger station,” the park website reads.
Officials previously said that the repair and replacement project would allow the park to meet its water supply needs for at least the next 50 years.
As the original pipeline was nearing completion in the 1960s, more than a foot of rain fell, which flooded the inner canyon and caused 40% of the project to be destroyed, according to officials.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.