Have Women Lost Their Damn Minds? The Lindsey Clancy Affair

About this episode

In this episode of Human Reaction, we take on the disturbing and deeply complicated case of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children. We walk through the months leading up to the tragedy, including Clancy’s worsening mental health, repeated attempts to seek treatment, hospitalization, and the staggering number of psychiatric medications she was prescribed. We then break down the competing arguments at the center of the trial. The prosecution argues that Clancy was depressed and anxious but not psychotic, pointing to evidence of planning and intentionality. The defense argues that she was suffering from severe mental illness and could not understand the wrongfulness of her actions or control her behavior. We also examine questions surrounding the alleged command hallucinations she reported after the killings and whether testimony from defense experts strengthens or complicates her insanity defense. But the case has become about far more than what happened inside the Clancy home. We look at the enormous public reaction surrounding the trial, including the women gathering outside the courthouse in solidarity with Clancy and the social media post