AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The defendant in a murder trial isn't often the subject of sympathy and support. Yet hundreds of people showed up outside of a Massachusetts courthouse last week to rally for Lindsay Clancy. She's on trial for allegedly killing her three children in 2023. Her attorney is arguing what's known as the insanity defense, saying that Clancy was experiencing postpartum psychosis. WBUR reporter Deborah Becker has been covering the trial and joins us now to talk about this. Good morning.
DEBORAH BECKER, BYLINE: Good morning.
RASCOE: You've been at the trial in Plymouth since it began. Tell us more about what happened outside the courthouse last week.
BECKER: Well, on Thursday, there was basically a sea of people dressed in pink - about 400 people, mostly women. Some wore buttons saying they were, quote, "standing with Lindsay." Some carried signs saying things like - you're a good mom. And - the system failed you. Renee Kimball of Maine, the lead organizer, said she made a social media post asking people to meet at the courthouse to, quote, "stand in peace for Lindsay."
RASCOE: What made Kimball want to organize this?
BECKER: Well, Kimball says she spontaneously decided to do this after watching the trial in Maine and hearing about Clancy's repeated attempts to get postpartum mental health care.
RENEE KIMBALL: I think that every one of us women believe that could be any one of us, any one of us who have dealt with mental health - anxiety, depression, postpartum. I think we just know that any one of us could be sitting in her chair, and it should not take for it to get to tragedy.
BECKER: And Kimball says the turnout has been overwhelming, and it shows that maternal mental health care needs to improve. Many of the demonstrators said they also experienced postpartum issues, and they had a hard time getting the attention and support they needed, if at all. Louise Saunders, a mother of two from Massachusetts, said it's especially tough for new moms to admit that they need help because of stigma and concerns their kids could be taken away.
LOUISE SAUNDERS: It's been so in the dark. And as women, we're told to smile, and, you know, it's natural to be a mom. So if you aren't really into it and you can't do it well with a smile, then you're not doing it right.
BECKER: And she said if a woman like Clancy, a labor and delivery nurse who understood the healthcare system and had resources, couldn't get help, then who can?
RASCOE: Tell us more about the people you saw gathering in support of Clancy.
BECKER: The group was really diverse - young women with children, older women who said this resonated with their own experiences. And they came from all over the country. Brenda Speller, a mom of six, flew in from Tennessee.
BRENDA SPELLER: We don't feel like there's enough support for women, especially postpartum, but mental health in general. I think some things could have been very different if maybe society took it a little more seriously.
(CHEERING)
BECKER: And then the crowd cheered as Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington, walked up to the courthouse. He says this trial is shining a light on a mental health care system that he believes is too short on time with patients and too reliant on prescription drugs.
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KEVIN REDDINGTON: When a woman is going through what so many people do, and they go to a doctor, and the doctor says, you know - here. Take this pill. Take that pill. Take this pill - and then they basically treat them for 15, 20 minutes and send them on their way, it's just not right.
RASCOE: That's the center of the defense argument - right? - that Clancy was not in her right mind and was overmedicated.
BECKER: That's right. Reddington has had several medical experts testify that Clancy was experiencing postpartum psychosis and was prescribed 13 different medications in the months before the killings.
RASCOE: And what does the prosecution say?
BECKER: Prosecutors have called their own medical experts who say Clancy did not have postpartum psychosis. Their witnesses have included some of Clancy's healthcare providers who have testified that, yes, she was depressed and trying different medications, but it was not psychosis. Prosecutors say Clancy was fine the day of the killings, functioning normally. But they don't dispute that Clancy was a devoted mother to her children who were 5 years old, 3 years old and 8 months old when they were killed.
RASCOE: Clancy has attended the proceedings. Is she aware of the supporters who've been gathering outside the courthouse?
BECKER: It's likely that she did know about the gathering on Thursday. Her attorney, Reddington, told the group outside the courthouse that he was going to make sure of it.
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REDDINGTON: She's so beat up and just so upset. This'll really help her out, I think. That's all. So...
UNIDENTIFIED SUPPORTER #1: Tell her we love her.
UNIDENTIFIED SUPPORTER #2: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED SUPPORTER #3: Thank you, Kevin.
UNIDENTIFIED SUPPORTER #4: Thank you, Kevin.
UNIDENTIFIED SUPPORTER #2: Thank you. Good luck. Good luck.
BECKER: It's been really interesting to watch how this case has galvanized attention. At the start of the trial, there were a few spectators, media and Clancy's family in the courtroom. Now there are lines to get in, and people have been turned away. Demonstrators also rallied at the state hospital where Clancy is being held, and another demonstration is scheduled at the courthouse on Monday.
RASCOE: What happens in the case from here?
BECKER: There's been 18 days of testimony so far. Both the prosecution and defense have rested. More prosecution expert rebuttal witnesses are expected to testify. Closing arguments would take place after that, and then the case goes to the jury to decide the verdict. That's expected this week.
RASCOE: That's Deborah Becker from member station WBUR. Thank you so much for being with us.
BECKER: You're welcome.
RASCOE: If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline.
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