The holdout juror who blocked a not guilty verdict in the trial of Lindsay Clancy said that contrary to his fellow jurors’ assertions, he “didn’t have any doubts” about the Massachusetts mother’s criminal responsibility in the killing of her three children.
The juror, Michael P. Desronvil, told NewsNation that the other jurors cut him off as he tried to explain why he believed Clancy was criminally responsible for the January 2023 killings of her three young children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan.
“I didn’t have any doubts,” Desronvil said in a brief statement the news outlet said was issued through an unidentified spokesperson. “As I tried to explain different possible theories during deliberation, I kept getting cut off as if I had doubts based on the evidence present. Based on all the physical evidence, key witnesses, and what the prosecution presents, I thought it was enough proof that she (Clancy) knew exactly what she was doing and planned.”
Desronvil’s characterization of the deliberations comes in contrast to the versions presented by several other jurors in interviews after the case ended in a mistrial this month. The other jurors who spoke to the media said that all but one of them believed Clancy, 36, should be found not guilty by reason of insanity. They said the holdout juror, who they did not identify by name, was “very arrogant” and even “admitted he had reasonable doubt” before refusing to consent to a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity.
The jurors also sent a note to the judge during deliberations stating that one of the jurors “refuses to listen to the law” on reasonable doubt, the burden of proof prosecutors had to surpass to win first-degree murder convictions that would have sent Clancy to prison for life without parole.
Her defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, argued she was experiencing postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings and should be found not guilty by reason of insanity, a verdict that would commit her to a state-run psychiatric institution and give her the opportunity to be reviewed for release in the future.
As the case became wrapped up in the culture wars, right-wing commentators — including Donald Trump Jr. and Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. — who believed Clancy should be found criminally responsible praised the holdout juror for blocking the acquittal.
Reddington sought to have the holdout juror removed from the panel, but Judge William Sullivan declined to do so.
Desronvil’s own legal troubles have become the subject of speculation given that the Massachusetts juror questionnaire asks potential jurors if they have ever been charged with a crime or been served with a court order, raising questions about how he answered the questions and why he was selected for the jury.
NBC10 Boston reported last week that Desronvil has an active restraining order against him filed by his teenage nephew, who alleged that Desronvil pushed him to the ground and punched him in the face, and that Desronvil was charged in 2021 with assaulting his then-wife in a case that was dismissed.
MS NOW reviewed the 2021 docket report from Brockton District Court, which showed that Desronvil was charged with assault and battery on a family member in September of that year. He pleaded not guilty, and the charge was dismissed that December.
MS NOW has not viewed the records confirming the restraining order.
An attorney who said he is representing Desronvil said neither he nor Desronvil will be giving interviews. Neither the lawyer nor Desronvil replied to multiple requests for comment from MS NOW on Friday.
Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz will decide whether to bring the case again and under which charges. The next court date in the case is Sept. 29.
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