In January 2023, Lindsay Clancy strangled her three young children—Cora (5), Dawson (3), and Callan (8 months)—in the basement of their Duxbury, Massachusetts home. This past week her trial ended in a mistrial. Her defense attorney said eleven of the twelve jurors were prepared to declare her not guilty on the grounds of insanity; the prosecutor disputed that reading of the jury’s notes. While Lindsay Clancy admitted she murdered her children, her defenders argued that she was over-medicated and in the grip of postpartum psychosis—that perhaps the drugs she was taking, or the illness itself, caused her to lose her mind and commit such a horrific deed.
Only one member of the twelve-member jury stood firm in opposition to that argument. As a result, the weeklong deliberation ended without a verdict and the judge declared a mistrial. Lindsay Clancy could be tried again. She could also be set free.
The murder of three innocent children is sickening. Christ gave His strongest warning against those who would harm children: “…it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6b). That warning is unequivocal.
While Lindsay Clancy’s admitted killing of her three children should cause moral outrage, the support for her troubles me. Rather than cries of justice for the children, their killer has become a folk hero for women’s mental health care. There have been rallies outside the courthouse. More than $1.2 million raised on her behalf. Bizarre conspiracy theories and deranged social media posts abound.
For Christ-followers there are several things wrong with the claims that Clancy should not be held responsible for the murder of her children:
Unpunished crime violates the holiness and justice of God. Cain murdered his brother Abel during an enraged mental state. God confronted Cain: “Where is your brother Abel?” Cain answered, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord responded, “Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:9-10). God pronounced a curse on Cain for his crime because God is holy and the scales of His justice must be balanced.
That’s why, beginning with God’s covenant with Noah, murder was regarded as a capital offense. Anyone who intentionally took a life had forfeited their right to live. To take three lives, the lives of innocent children, is the most despicable of crimes and violates God’s eternal scale of justice.
Those three children didn’t really belong to Lindsay Clancy. They ultimately belong to God. When she painfully strangled them to death, she caused great offense to the holiness and justice of God, their Creator. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8).
The justice of God is absolute, and there is no mitigating factor that allows anyone to escape accountability for sin. No excuse, no impaired mental state, no under-the-influence reasoning will allow us to bypass divine law. A true biblical worldview reflects God’s divine justice. “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly” (Luke 18:7-8).
If crime goes unpunished, there is no justice for the victims. The victims in this case are the three innocent Clancy children who were strangled to death. The children’s grieving father, relatives and friends who loved those children are also victims. The Biblical principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth was given to enact justice—a system of fair-mindedness and propriety in society. If Lindsay Clancy is not responsible, then there is no justice for the innocent Clancy children.
Biblical justice mandates a judicial system that advocates on behalf of the innocent. “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9).
When a crime goes unpunished, there is no deterrent to those who are capable of similar offenses in the future. This principle of proportional justice serves as a warning to the public and protects social order. “The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you” (Deuteronomy 19:20).
And King Solomon wisely wrote that justice should not be prolonged. “When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong” (Ecclesiastes 8:11).
Unpunished crime reflects a decaying judicial system and creates a confused culture without moral principle. Judges were warned repeatedly throughout the Old Testament, “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly” (Leviticus 19:15). Judges and courts were not to twist the truth. Mitigating factors such as the influence of drugs or impaired mental state may determine Lindsay Clancy’s sentencing, but they should not replace responsibility. Justice demands she pay for her crimes. Perhaps Lindsay Clancy should be assigned to a mental institution, but she should never be released.
Only in time will we know whether justice is served on behalf of the Clancy children. Christ’s warning to Lindsay Clancy is clear. But His offer of a pardon from the penalty of sin is just as clear. Thankfully it is the same offer He makes to every one of us who has broken God’s law. Even the most wicked among us can be forgiven—if we will simply surrender to Him.
“Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” (Isaiah 55:7).
