Breaking
Demonstrators call for a first-degree murder verdict Tuesday as they protest outside the courthouse during the jury deliberation phase of Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial at the Plymouth County Superior Court in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Clancy is on trial for the January 2023 strangulation deaths of her three young children. (Joseph Prezioso – AFP / Getty Images)
By Johnathan Jones September 2, 2026 at 1:00pm
The jury weighing Lindsay Clancy’s fate reported Wednesday that it remained deadlocked, forcing the presiding judge to deliver a Massachusetts instruction known as the “dynamite charge.”
As WCVB-TV noted, jurors first said they could not reach consensus Tuesday morning, but Judge William Sullivan told them to continue deliberating rather than declaring a mistrial.
After about five more hours of deliberation Wednesday, jurors sent Sullivan another note saying they still could not agree on a unanimous decision.
🚨 BREAKING: The Lindsay Clancy jury has ONCE AGAIN sent a note to the judge saying they’re DEADLOCKED
The judge is now reading them a Tuey-Rodriguez charge, and will send them BACK to deliberate again
Here’s what a Tuey-Rodriguez charge entails, as read by the judge:
– A jury… pic.twitter.com/dnkoTlJzSe
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 2, 2026
ABC News reported that jurors wrote, “After much deliberation, we are still unable to come to a unanimous decision,” prompting Sullivan to give them the Tuey-Rodriguez charge.
The instruction tells jurors to keep working to come to a consensus and reminds them that they have a civic duty to bring the case to a conclusion, Fox News reported:
BREAKING: The judge in the Lindsay Clancy trial gives the desperately deadlocked jury a last resort “Tuey-Rodriguez” charge after five days of deliberation.
The “Tuey-Rodriguez” charge is an instruction urging the jury to try again and reach a unanimous verdict. pic.twitter.com/DlcBJOv5D0
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 2, 2026
The jury in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial says it’s still deadlocked after five days of deliberations.
The judge has now issued a Tuey-Rodriguez charge.
What that means:
• It’s a final push to encourage jurors to reach a unanimous verdict.
• Jurors are told to reconsider… pic.twitter.com/e5AQ1G9Gfu— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 2, 2026
Retired Massachusetts Judge Jim Barretto further explained the so-called dynamite charge to WCVB.
Barretto said the instruction stresses the seriousness of the jury’s obligation.
A jury of nine women and three men is deciding how, if at all, Clancy should be punished for killing her three children in 2023.
Clancy’s defense has argued that she was not criminally responsible, as she was suffering postpartum psychosis.
Will the judge eventually declare a mistrial?
Barretto said the Tuey-Rodriguez instruction can be given one more time if the judge thinks it could motivate jurors to come to a decision.
If the jurors return deadlocked again, Sullivan will have to decide whether to issue the instruction again or declare a mistrial.
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Johnathan Jones is a journalist, novelist, and media analyst with experience as a reporter, editor, and producer across radio, television, and digital platforms. Follow him on X: @misterjkjones
