The lone holdout juror whose refusal to join the other jurors in finding Lindsay Clancy not guilty by reason of insanity and prompted a mistrial says he never doubted the prosecution’s case, according to a statement to NewsNation.
Michael P. Desronvil said in the statement that he “didn’t have any doubts” and that, based on physical evidence and witnesses, he believed prosecutors proved Clancy knew what she was doing when she strangled her three young children in January 2023.
Desronvil’s account directly contradicts fellow jurors’ public statements after the mistrial that he had appeared to acknowledge reasonable doubt during deliberations but still refused to join the 11 jurors who would have found Clancy not guilty by reason of insanity. The jury deadlocked 11-1 and Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial.
Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, has admitted killing her children — Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months — but argued she was not criminally responsible because she was suffering from severe mental illness at the time. Prosecutors have said she planned the killings and understood the wrongfulness of her actions.
Plymouth County prosecutors are weighing whether to retry Clancy, whose attorneys have also discussed resolving the case without another jury. Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital that prosecutors face a difficult decision about whether they could persuade another jury in Massachusetts to unanimously reject Clancy’s insanity defense.
Judge Sullivan has ordered jurors’ identities and questionnaires sealed, citing safety concerns. Clancy is due back in court Sept. 29 as prosecutors determine whether to seek a retrial.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
