A televised town hall hosted by Oprah Winfrey about the Lindsay Clancy case drew applause when an obstetrician told the audience that mothers of color convicted of similar crimes deserve the same public sympathy and attention Clancy has received.
The exchange came near the end of the town hall, in footage posted to Winfrey’s YouTube channel on Thursday. Dr. Kameelah Phillips, an obstetrician and gynecologist, urged women to discuss mental health risk factors with their doctors before and during pregnancy.
“It is not shameful to talk about your risk factors, which could be depression, bipolar disorder, not having a supportive spouse, limited resources,” Phillips said.
She continued, “All of these are little risk factors that, when you tick away at them and add a baby, sleep deprivation, on top, can really have you tip over.” Phillips added, “I hope this never happens again,” while acknowledging, “We know, statistically, it really will.”
Phillips then asked the audience to extend that same level of concern to women of color facing similar charges.
“I want us to have the same passion for people who don’t look like Lindsay, who don’t have her same access and education, her melanin, her privilege,” Phillips said, prompting applause from the audience.
“There are women of color sitting around this country in prisons for this same thing that we’ve never heard of,” she added. “And I just want to remind us to have the pink shirts and the energy for them, as well.”
Background on the Clancy Case
The town hall followed a mistrial in the case of Lindsay Clancy, who was tried in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, in connection with the deaths of her three young children at the family’s home in Duxbury in 2023. Clancy acknowledged strangling the children but argued that postpartum psychosis left her unable to understand her actions at the time.
Judge William Sullivan declared the mistrial last week after a jury of nine women and three men deliberated for seven days, spanning more than 36 hours, without reaching a unanimous verdict. Eleven of the twelve jurors reportedly favored a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity, but a single holdout prevented a unanimous decision.
