The Lindsay Clancy Online Discord: Trial by Jury, Judgment by Internet

There are SO MANY post out there going on and on the Lindsay Clancy mistrial. This post isn’t to discuss Patrick and his movements, just to discuss postpartum diagnosis and a few weird theories. Every one of them says either 1 – Postpartum is not excuse to kill your kids. 2 – Women should lose their right to vote if they have postpartum 3 – No one felt bad for Chris Benoit or, and the most insane one (to me) 4 – You liberals probably want Susan Smith out of jail too AND of course the honorable mention goes to: Casey Anthony being used an example. (Like WTF?)

First, postpartum literally means “after birth“. This simply refers to the time period following childbirth. Some of the posts actually say postpartum depression or the ever condescending ‘baby blues’. The woman had postpartum psychosis AND she isn’t walking free – in any sense of that term. No one is supporting her allegedly (because there has been no conviction) killing her children. Not a single one. Feeling some empathy for the SITUATION because this woman asked for help repeatedly and had a shitty support system is not supporting a woman for (allegedly) killing her children. At the end of this post are going to be the different postpartum diagnosis because there seems to be some “confusion” around this topic too.

Using the Lindsay Clancy case as an argument for taking away women’s right to vote makes absolutely no sense. A fundamental democratic right does not disappear because one member of a group commits a horrific act. We don’t decide whether millions of people deserve political rights based on the worst thing another person of the same sex has done.

And if we really want to play the “judge an entire sex by violent offenders” game, the statistics certainly don’t support the argument being made. Familicide – often called family annihilation – is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men. Research has found that as many as 95% of familicide perpetrators are male. In one Canadian study (examining familicides between 2010 and 2019, 25 of the 26 accused were men. Earlier research examining 109 familicides in Canadian and British homicide records similarly found that the perpetrators were almost exclusively men.

In the United States, familicide is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men. One major U.S. study examining 207 familicide cases between 2000 and 2009 found that 198 perpetrators, or 96%, were men, while only 9, or 4%, were women. In that study, familicide perpetrators were therefore about 24 times more likely to be male than female. This certainly does not mean men as a group should be judged by the actions of these offenders – it demonstrates exactly why using an individual woman’s horrific crime to condemn women collectively or question their civil rights is both illogical and unfair.

Chris Benoit got no sympathy because he did not live. He actually had a long history of bullying and shitty-ass abusive behavior including domestic violence. He also had advanced Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) which explained his escalating aggression, severe mood swings, and profound paranoia towards the end of his life. It’s still regularly referred to as the ‘Benoit Family Tragedy’.

Susan Smith or Casey Anthony for that matter should not have ever been mentioned in this case at all. Susan Smith literally murdered her babies because the guy she was cheating on her husband with broke up with her because he didn’t want kids, then went on national television after claiming she was car-jacked and the thief took her kids. Since being in prison, she has faced disciplinary action for sexual encounters with prison guards, drug possession, and, as recently as August 2025, breaking prison rules by communicating with a documentary filmmaker to share witness contact details. Casey Anthony got away with murder – no PPD or anything other than her wanting to go out and party. Her movements and photos show that as a fact.

These are the different postpartum diagnosis mental health disorders. These are not ‘baby blues‘ or an ‘excuse‘ to kill your kids, they are actual mental health diagnoses and they should all be taken very seriously. Also, your experience with any of these disorders doesn’t set the standard. No two experiences are the same and should never be compared. It’s not a competition.

Postpartum Depression is a serious mood disorder that can happen after having a baby, causing intense sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion that interfere with daily life

Postpartum Psychosis is a rare and severe mental health emergency that occurs after childbirth, causing a sudden loss of touch with reality, hallucinations, and extreme mood swings

Postpartum Anxiety is a common mental health condition marked by intense, persistent, and excessive worry that occurs after childbirth

Postpartum Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a specific type of OCD that starts during pregnancy or in the first year after giving birth, marked by unwanted, scary thoughts about the baby and repetitive actions to lower anxiety

Postpartum Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition triggered by a distressing, frightening, or traumatic childbirth experience

Postpartum Bipolar Episodes are manic, hypomanic, or depressive mood swings that occur during pregnancy or within the weeks and months following childbirth in individuals with bipolar disorder

*These definitions are a brief overview of what someone can experience. There is far more to the disorder, diagnosis and treatment of each*

In closing, do I think Lindsay Clancy is innocent? I don’t know. There is no dispute that Lindsay caused the deaths of her three children. The question at trial was whether she was legally criminally responsible for her actions because of her mental state at the time.

I also still have questions about Patrick Clancy’s account. There are parts of his story that simply don’t make sense to me and leave me believing that there is far more to what happened. It is possible that his account is truthful, but I can’t say I believe that with 100% certainty.

Ultimately, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision, resulting in a mistrial. That does not mean Lindsay was found innocent, nor does it mean she was found guilty. It means there was no verdict.

For me, there are still unanswered questions. Three beautiful children lost their lives, and nothing should ever overshadow that tragedy. But I also don’t think this case is nearly as simple as some people want it to be.

Sources: Mayo Clinic, The Nature and Prevalence of Familicide in the United States, 2000–2009 by Liem, Levin, Holland and Fox, published in the Journal of Family Violence, and research available through Springer, PubMed/NCBI, and the National Library of Medicine, AP News, Reuters.