The Tragic Case of Lindsay Clancy Heath Lambert A Complete Tragedy For weeks, our entire nation has been riveted by the tragedy of Lindsay Clancy. The tragedy began in January of 2023 when Clancy, overwhelmed, medicated, and clearly in distress,strangled to death all three of her children: Callan, Dawson, and Cora. Her husband, Patrick, arrived at home to discover his three dead children and his wife laying in the yard after attempting suicide by cutting her wrists, neck, and jumping from the second story window. Clancy survived the attempt but remains paralyzed from the waist down. Now, over three years later, she is on trial for the murder of her children. The trial is not a dispute about whether she took the lives of her children, but about whether she should be held criminally responsible for the act. The verdict in the case will determine whether she is sent to prison or to a mental institution. The trial happening in a Massachusetts courtroom is also happening in the court of public opinion and is dividing the nation. Millions have extended sympathy to Clancy and expressed outrage that such a troubled woman is being tried at all. Millions of others have expressed that no struggle Clancy faced can possibly make her anything other than a murderer of her children. Everyone can agree that this entire situation is an unmitigated disaster. Three children are dead at the hands of their own mother. The life of that mother has been permanently altered with paralysis, a potential lifetime of institutional confinement, and the guilt of what she has done. There is also a husband and father whose entire family was yanked away from him in the most tragic of circumstances. If we can all agree that this is a tragedy, there is much disagreement about the specific kind of tragedy it is and what, if anything, can be done about it. Five categories can help us respond to the tragic case of Lindsay Clancy. The Limitations of Psychiatry One reality unfolding in this drama has to do with the limits of psychiatry and psychiatric care. In spite of the fact that Clancy was being treated by credentialed professionals, and in spite of the fact that she was clearly in distress, the people tasked with caring for her were not able toprovide crucial help. Earlier this year, Clancy’s husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit against some of her doctors alleging her condition worsened after they began treating her. When a psychiatrist’s patient kills three people and attempts to kill herself, at the very least we must be willing to consider that this was a failure of care. Another limitation of psychiatry exhibited in the Clancy case is the conflicting expert testimonywe have witnessed in the trial. The prosecution in the case has called expert psychiatric witnesses claiming that Clancy absolutely knew what she was doing and must be held responsible. The defense has called different psychiatric experts claiming she absolutely did not know what she was doing and definitely must not be held responsible. Such opposite conclusions about central issues clearly demonstrates limitations in the modern discipline of psychiatry. The obvious limitations of psychiatry on display in the Clancy case do not mean there is no legitimacy to psychiatry, that it is the only discipline with professionals who disagree, or that Clancy’s case was not complex. The point is that in our contemporary culture people have tended to extend a level of optimism and authority to psychiatric care far beyond what the discipline deserves. Modern psychiatry is far more experimental and uncertain than most understand. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that average and untrained people looking at this situation from the distance of media reportshave the same kinds of disagreements about the case as the professionals possessing intimate knowledge of the details of the situation and being called as supposedly expert witnesses. In our professionalized society, people with problems tend to assume that those with extensive training and advanced degrees are able to solve their problems with drugs and other treatments that are standardized, formulaic, and uncontroversial. It is no slander against psychiatry to admit this is not true. Psychiatrists are like anyone else. They are finite and fallible people operating out of a very specific worldview who possess limitations, blind spots, and prejudices. They do their work in a discipline with more mystery and unanswered questions than we typically acknowledge. The tragic case of Lindsay Clancy is a caution to our entire culture to view these well-intended professionals with far more caution than we often do. The Complexity of the Human Body Another factor we must consider in evaluating the Clancy case is the incredible complexity of the human body. Clancy’s trial raises difficult medical and biological questions. This complexityis basic to the courtroom battle we read in the news of the case. Clancy’s defense is not that she did not end the lives of her children, but that she possessed a diagnosable condition and a level of physical distress that removes the criminal responsibility for her actions. The argument from the prosecution is that there is no medical condition she faced that could eliminate her criminal responsibility. The Bible’s teaching on the human body helps Christians think clearly about this matter. Consider two strands of biblical teaching on our bodies which form the entire context of our existence as members of the human race. First, our bodies are wondrous creations of God and gifts from him to us. The gift of these bodiesallows us to experience every reality we encounter in life: the taste of food, a loved one’s touch, the sight of a beautiful sunset, the sound of a worship song—every gift we receive from God is mediated through his gift to us of our bodies. Second, in the sinful world in which we live, our bodies are weak. The Bible teaches this in places like 2 Corinthians 4:16, which says of our “Outer self is wasting away.” In this broken world, the good gift of our bodies is constantly breaking down and failing us: we get the flu, neurons misfire, our eyesight degrades or becomes non-existent, our auditory equipment gets weaker, our muscles ache, our heads ache, our backs ache, we fracture bones, sprain muscles, and confront midlife spread. All of our bodies are constantly weakening to the point that they ultimately cease to function, and we die. We can all agree that such physical weakness is on display in the tragic case of Lindsay Clancy. Years ago, I edited a book with Stuart Scott called Counseling the Hard Cases. In that book, I wrote a chapter about postpartum psychosis and my experience of caring for women with struggles like Lindsay Clancy. One reality I discussed in that chapter is the overwhelming physical weaknesses a new mom can confront. The physical exhaustion from no sleep and the strain of constant care for other needy people combined with enormous hormonal realignment are hard enough without the increased trouble that comes from the side effects of medication. Few conditions on earth rival the physical challenges faced by new moms. These realities are more than enough to stoke our compassion for moms like Lindsay Clancy facing tremendousbodily weakness. Biblical Teaching on the Human Heart The Clancy case also forces our awareness that the Bible teaches human beings have more than a body, but also possess an inner aspect known variously as a soul, spirit, or heart. The Bible does not just reveal the existence of this aspect of humanity but teaches the priority it has in guiding our existence. In Proverbs 4:23, Solomon says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” In Mark 7:20-23, Jesus says, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” That teaching from Jesus on the heart is significant. Without diminishing the weakness that our physical bodies always add to our existence, Jesus is clear that sin and defilement do not come out of the body, but out of the heart. Jesus’s long list of sins that come out of the heart highlightssome of the terrible realities on display with Lindsay Clancy: evil thoughts, murder, wickedness,and more. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who made the body, says we may not blame our misdeeds on our bodies but must admit that sin comes from wicked hearts separated from God. That is true, even when the case is tragic like this one. The Bible and Responsibility The Bible always places responsibility for our actions, not on the kind of bodies we have, but on the kind of hearts we possess. This principle does not remove every difficulty or answer every question. Biological problems in the brain can make it hard, if not impossible, to think clearly, to remember accurately, to see, speak, hear, and move. But none of those terrible challenges in a fallen world absolves someone from responsibility after they take an action. Biblically speaking, we are always responsible for what we do. To say it another more obvious way, whenever someone does something, it is always that person that did it. There is simply no way for us to think biblically or to function as a society if we create a category of actions that people take, but for which they bear no responsibility. We should be quick to admit that we can hold people responsible and still be compassionate. We can say, both, that someone faced overwhelming and regrettable circumstances, and, that theystill did something wrong for which they must be held to account. Lindsay Clancy deserves our compassion: s
