Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is firing back at supporters of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother who strangled her three young children, as the jury in her murder trial remains deadlocked after four days of deliberation.
In a searing commentary published by The Daily Wire, Mace wrote, “If this is what compassion looks like now, God help us,” as she criticized the crowd of women in pink shirts and posters who have gathered outside the Plymouth courthouse to show solidarity with Clancy.
“A mob” outside the courthouse
Mace described the demonstrators as a “pink-poster legal dream team” whose signs read “She Needed Help,” but argued that “needing help doesn’t excuse murder.” She took aim at comments made by some of the women to reporters, including one who said the group was “very on the fence” about whether Clancy should go to jail, and another who suggested that Clancy had “already” been punished because she uses a wheelchair. Clancy is in a wheelchair after jumping from a second-story window following the killings.
Mace also highlighted one protester’s claim that “I don’t think she did it,” despite the fact that Clancy’s own defense attorney has never disputed that she strangled her children — Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months — with exercise bands in the basement of their home.
Another demonstrator blamed the children’s father, Patrick Clancy, for negligence, saying, “He should go to jail for negligence. He needs to take care of his kids, and that was his responsibility.” Mace called that assertion particularly galling, noting that Patrick Clancy came home to find all three children dead and has publicly asked the world to forgive his wife.
The defense’s case
The defense has argued over five weeks and more than 80 witnesses that Clancy lacked criminal responsibility because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was overmedicated. The prosecution, meanwhile, says Clancy acted deliberately and knew right from wrong. The jury has been weighing charges including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, not guilty by reason of insanity, and not guilty.
Mace, who said she experienced postpartum depression with her second child, was careful to acknowledge the seriousness of the condition. “It is real. It is serious. It can distort your sense of self,” she wrote. But she pushed back against the idea that it should be a “get-out-of-jail-free card” for murder. “You can believe the system needs more treatment beds, better medication oversight, and faster intervention. All of those things can be true. And Lindsay Clancy can still be a murderer.”
Jurors spotted wearing pink
Mace also noted that at least two jurors were observed wearing pink as they returned to deliberations — the same color worn by the protesters outside. Shortly after, the jury announced it was deadlocked.
“The internet got this story all wrong. This is not about Lindsay Clancy’s feelings,” Mace wrote. “This is about justice for the children she murdered.”
She concluded by warning that the case will set a precedent. “It’s about whether the lives of three children are worth less than the feelings of the woman who ended them,” she said.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/nancy-mace-her-children-are-dead-and-the-jury-is-deadlocked