The legal question behind the headlines.

The Clancy trial’s competing accounts centered on her mental state. The defense described postpartum psychosis; prosecutors argued that her conduct was planned. Those are the positions reported during the trial, not conclusions adopted by this publication.Source: Associated Press · August 27, 2026

The state must prove responsibility

Massachusetts model instruction 9.200 explains that, when criminal responsibility is at issue, the Commonwealth must establish it beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant does not have to prove a lack of responsibility.Source: Massachusetts Trial Court · Revised June 2022

The instruction describes two routes: proving the absence of a mental disease or defect at the relevant time; or proving that, despite such a condition, the defendant retained substantial capacity both to understand the wrongfulness or criminality of the conduct and to comply with the law.Source: Massachusetts Trial Court · Revised June 2022

A diagnosis does not answer every legal question

The model instruction treats “mental disease or defect” as a legal term that need not match a formal diagnosis. Evidence of illness matters, but the inquiry also concerns its effect at the time of the conduct.Source: Massachusetts Trial Court · Revised June 2022

This guide uses a published Massachusetts model instruction for general context. It is not a reproduction of the judge’s complete instructions in Clancy’s trial, an assessment of the evidence, or legal advice. To evaluate an argument about what this jury was told, look for the actual instruction and its full context.