Lindsay Clancy trial: Jury being sent home for weekend

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington has begun his closing argument.

Before closing began, Judge William Sullivan instructed the jury how to view the law in the case.

Sullivan told jurors that Lindsay Clancy is "not criminally responsible for her conduct if she has a mental disease or defect, and as a result of that mental disease or defect, she lacks the substantial capacity, either to appreciate the criminality or wrongfulness of her conduct, or to conform her conduct to the requirements of the law."

Jurors were told that the burden is on prosecutors to prove that Clancy was not suffering from a "mental disease or defect" so severe she could not tell the difference between right and wrong.

If Clancy is found "not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility," she would be sent to a state psychiatric facility until it is deemed she “is no longer mentally ill and dangerous," Sullivan told the jury.

Sullivan ended his jury instruction by telling the jurors about the lesser included offense of manslaughter.

The judge also instructed the jury how to consider whatever impairment may have been caused by Clancy’s mental illness of the medications she was prescribed.

Closing arguments in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy are underway. The judge began the day by instructing the jury on the law. Each side has one hour to deliver their closings. Jury deliberations could begin around noon.

The closing arguments cap off 21 days of testimony from a total of 84 witnesses, comprised of 74 prosecution witnesses and 10 defense witnesses.

Judge William Sullivan said each side will have one hour Thursday morning to deliver their closing arguments in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy.

Once the closings are over, Sullivan will instruct the jury about how to interpret the law in the case, known as the jury charge. It is possible that the jury begins its deliberations by noon.

The charge itself is not yet finalized, but Sullivan signaled that the jurors will be allowed to consider the charge of manslaughter, a lesser offense than the murder charge.

To secure a conviction, prosecutors need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Clancy was “criminally responsible at the time the alleged crime was committed.”

Jurors will be told that Clancy is not criminally responsible if she “lacks the substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality or wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.”

The jury has been sent home for the day as the evidentiary portion of the trial concluded. The judge is holding a charge conference, which is set for 2:30 p.m., to hash out how the jury should be instructed on the law in the case. Closing arguments will begin Thursday morning.