See Lindsay Clancy’s attorney re-focus witness on her humanity
Defense lawyer, Kevin Reddington, stood beside Lindsay Clancy and pressed Dr. Kirk Heilbrun on medication effects during his cross-examination.
It’s been nearly 25 years since another 36-year-old mother, Andrea Yates, was on trial for killing her young children.
But Yates’ story didn’t elicit the same swell of empathy as Lindsay Clancy’s has today.
In 2002, Yates was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison after she drowned her five children in a bathtub while her husband was at work in June 2001. Her children ranged in age from 6 months to 7 years old. She was later found not guilty by reason of insanity during a retrial, and committed to a state psychiatric hospital.
The public disdain for Yates’ actions, despite her history of mental illness, was palpable.
“There’s no doubt about it,” said Dr. Jack Vaeth, a psychiatrist and director of the Advanced Center for Treatment-Resistant Depression at the University of Maryland Medical Center. During the Yates trial, he said, the common consensus was, “You still have to take responsibility for your actions.”
A CNN headline from March 2002 read, “Psychiatrist: Yates could have made herself better.” In a college student opinion column from February 2002, The State Press columnist Rob Jones wrote, “If it were up to many people, there would be no trial, only an execution.” Some columns from that time showed more nuance or even compassion, including an opinion piece published by The Washington Post in February 2002. In that piece, political columnist Richard Cohen wrote, “Why not treat this tragedy for what it is — the act of a sick woman?”
Now, the world is awaiting Clancy’s fate − but with “definitely more empathy this time, and looking at a broken system,” Vaeth said. The mother from Massachusetts faces three murder charges for strangling 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan in January 2023. While prosecutors say Clancy planned the killings − and Clancy does not dispute that she killed her children − Clancy’s defense attorney Kevin Reddington says she is not guilty because she, like Yates, was suffering from postpartum psychosis.
Like with Yates, there have been cries of outrage at Clancy’s actions. But this time, many women and mothers, especially, have flocked to the internet in Clancy’s defense.
“My heart is hurting for this whole family including Lindsay,” one TikTok user posted in July. The video received 91,000 views. The user added that Clancy, “her children and her ex husband were failed by the medical professionals that were supposed to protect them.”
“Women’s mental health is never taken seriously,” one commenter wrote on NBC’s video of Clancy crying in court. Another commenter wrote, “Imagine knowing your babies are gone and everyone is saying you did it but you don’t remember doing any of it.”
A lot of the people speaking out have experienced postpartum hardships themselves, said Linda Hanna, a registered nurse and cofounder and director of care at Mahmee, a pregnancy and postpartum care platform. By sharing their stories in support of Clancy, Hanna said, they’re saying: “Pay attention to all of us.”
“This is not the first, this will not be the last, unfortunately, parent who is experiencing psychosis,” Hanna said. “These people who are stepping up and speaking up are saying, ‘Hello? I’m over here. Yep, I’ve actually had that, but not that. I had something, and I didn’t know what it was, and no one heard me or listened.'”
Clancy case shines light on need for postpartum support for mothers
Clancy’s story is tragic, said Dr. Melissa Walsh, a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and Chief Medical Director at SimpliFed, a pregnancy and postpartum care program. It’s also been a catalyst for talks of change in the world of maternal medicine.
“I do appreciate that it is fueling the conversation around postpartum care in this country,” Walsh said. While postpartum psychosis is extremely rare, she said, postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression are not. “But we live in a country where we have less than 500 psychiatrists who are formally trained in reproductive mental health.”
The United States is in need of greater infrastructure and additional resources for new moms, she said, including options for support when mothers are no longer in a crisis situation, but are still struggling.
“We have to do more,” Hanna said, adding that screening new mothers for mental health concerns is not enough. “Then you have to provide the access to care. And you have to make the care affordable and sustainable.”
Eve Rodsky, author of “Fair Play,” a guide for couples on how to divide domestic tasks, predicts Clancy’s trial will go down in history as a pivotal turning point in how people view maternal mental health. But the reach is even larger than that, she said. Rodsky is in awe of how Clancy’s attorney is “shining a spotlight on women’s unpaid labor.”
Many women suffer from maternal mental health issues because they are shouldering so much in their relationships and for their families, Rodsky said. The “mental load” of motherhood is finally out in the open, she said, and talking about those struggles alongside the Clancy case has allowed for a more nuanced cultural conversation. In previous similar cases, Rodsky said, the public opinion has held steadfast in casting guilt and shame on accused mothers.
“Now, all of a sudden, there’s a third thing coming up: empathy. I’m just shocked,” Rodsky said. She said she’s been encouraged by this response, from both women and men. “And wow, people talking about systems failures.”
Clancy’s case is the first time Rodsky said she’s seen a mother who has “done something horrific, and it hasn’t been just complete shame and blame on her.”
“I feel so good that that’s happening,” Rodsky said. “There’s something changing, you know, in our culture.”
Madeline Mitchell’s role covering women and the caregiving economy at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
Reach Madeline at memitchell@usatoday.com and @maddiemitch_ on X.