A Massachusetts judge has promised to bring more "pizzazz" to his instructions after a tense clash on Friday with Lindsay Clancy's defense attorney over a holdout juror. The jury in Clancy's triple-murder trial has reported being stuck at 11-1, with notes to Judge William Sullivan saying that the lone juror admits having doubt but won't factor it into a verdict, reports Court TV. Defense lawyer Kevin Reddington accused the juror of lying about following the law and pushed for a special inquiry. Sullivan declined, agreeing with prosecutors that the dispute appeared to be over how to interpret reasonable doubt, not juror misconduct.
Sullivan had previously questioned each juror in sidebar conversations, then reread the reasonable-doubt standard to them before sending them back to deliberate. Video is circulating online out of the Plymouth courtroom, showing Reddington calling Sullivan "soft" in how he relayed instructions to the jury. "What do you want me to do? Get a brass band?" Sullivan pushed back. "I read the instruction as written by the [Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court]. The fact that I perhaps didn't give it my full inflection, I'm sorry about that, I'm not an actor." Clancy has pleaded not guilty, citing postpartum psychosis. NBC Boston notes that if the lone juror doesn't come around, Sullivan could declare a mistrial, after which Clancy could face a new trial, work out a plea deal, or see the charges dropped.
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