The basic story of the Lindsay Clancy case presented on social media is one about women’s mental health and inadequate postpartum care. Lindsay was suffering from postpartum psychosis and heard a commanding voice that told her to strangle her three children, Cora (5), Dawson (3), and Callan (8 months), in January 2023, many believe. She was haphazardly prescribed 13 different medications by psychiatrists, was rejected by a postpartum outpatient program, and was dismissed by suicide hotlines. In this narrative, Lindsay was “failed” by her husband, her doctors, and “the system.” Her supporters have raised over $1 million for her parents, and hundreds of women gathered outside the courthouse on August 20 to support her, wearing pink clothing displaying phrases like “She Needed Help” and “Justice for Lindsay.” Fans of her lawyer greeted and hugged him outside the courthouse yesterday, saying, “You’re the voice of so many moms.”
Yet Lindsay’s claims of psychiatric neglect and lack of care are fundamentally inaccurate. Lindsay had far more assistance than most women. She received 18 weeks of maternity leave with the option to extend it, and two of her children went to daycare. She had a competent nanny and help from her parents, and her husband, Patrick Clancy, worked from home. Lindsay’s psychiatrists and nurses were highly responsive to her requests and needs. The reason she had so many prescriptions was in part because she went to different doctors and did not stick to one plan. Lindsay voluntarily left an inpatient program and was not coldly “turned away” from postpartum mental health treatment, but was instead given other options for her generalized anxiety and depression. When Lindsay called the suicide hotline, she disclosed no specific plan to hurt herself or anyone else.
The jury in her trial today told the judge that they could not reach a verdict, and the judge asked them to continue deliberations. Since the jury was not sequestered, it is easy to imagine that both the news media and social media may have influenced the deadlock. On TikTok and Instagram, users have advanced the conspiracy theory that Patrick Clancy was the real killer.
