Staff Reports
The televised plea for a presidential pardon in the Lindsay Clancy case felt more like a political stunt than a legal strategy. This week, defense attorney Kevin Reddington went on network television and asked President Donald Trump to “consider a pardon” after a judge declared a mistrial. The moment landed with a thud — and not just because it was legally meaningless. It raised real questions about courtroom strategy, respect for state authority, and the politicization of tragedy.
Why the pardon plea grabbed headlines
Reddington’s on-air request was short, direct and dramatic: “Mr. President, I would hope that you would consider this young lady…” It came right after Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial when jurors reported they were deadlocked, roughly 11–1 against a unanimous verdict. That sequence — split jury, mistrial, star turn on morning television — reads like a public-relations play, not a sober legal move. If the aim was sympathy, it probably worked for some. If the aim was to change the law, it was theater, pure and simple.
But the president can’t legally step in
Here’s the part that lawyers and ordinary citizens should find maddening: a U.S. President cannot pardon state crimes. The Constitution’s clemency power covers federal offenses. State murder charges are handled by state law. In Massachusetts, any state clemency would have to flow through Governor Maura Healey and the Governor’s Council process — not the White House. So when an attorney pleads to President Donald Trump on national TV, it’s either ignorant of basic law or a deliberate attempt to score headlines.
What happens next in the case — and why that matters
After a mistrial, the Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz’s office can choose to retry the case or to drop it. The decision should rest on evidence, justice, and the wishes of victims’ families — not on who gives the best on-air appeal. The defense points to claims of postpartum psychosis and the defendant’s injuries after an apparent suicide attempt. Those are serious issues deserving careful legal and medical scrutiny. But bypassing the state process and asking the President to step in short-circuits accountability and confuses the public about how justice actually works.
There is room for compassion without spectacle. Real clemency in a state murder case requires a sober review by state officials, not a morning-show plea. If the defense believes a pardon is the right path, then pursue the state channels, gather medical evidence, and make the legal case. Publicity stunts don’t help victims, they don’t help the legal system, and they sure don’t help the rule of law. The country deserves better than courtroom theater dressed up as clemency.
