Lindsay Clancy’s defense attorney demands holdout juror’s cellphone records, wants to question him on alleged lies during juror selection

The trial of Lindsay Clancy ended dramatically on Sept. 4 when jurors confirmed that after an intense week of deliberation, they were deadlocked eleven to one. A mistrial was declared and the fate of Clancy, who admitted to killing her three children but mounted a defense that she’s not guilty by reason of insanity, remains unknown.

The hold-out juror has now been publicly identified as Michael Desronvil, a 48-year-old Massachusetts man from a Haitian immigrant family. His lawyer, Edward Paltzik, describes Desronvil as an “American Hero and Champion of Justice,” and went out of his way to underline (via People) that he “supports our amazing leader, President Donald Trump, as a fellow defender of common-sense, liberty, and sanity.”

According to Paltzik, Desronvil said he “didn’t have any doubts” that Clancy was fully in control of her actions when she killed her children, and is certain he was doing the right thing to resist pressure from other jurors to acquit. In the wake of the intense publicity after the trial, an online fundraiser was started for Desronvil, which has (as of writing) reached an astonishing $379,000.

“American Hero and Champion of Justice”

Now Clancy’s defense lawyer wants Desronvil investigated. As per The Guardian, Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, has raised questions over whether Desronvil was telling the truth during jury selection and whether he violated juror rules during deliberation.

In a motion made public yesterday, Reddington requested the court bring Desronvil in for questioning about claims he was using a cellphone in the deliberation room, whether he told the truth while filling out a pretrial questionnaire, and whether he lied to the judge when jurors were questioned by the judge the day before the end of the trial.

To back that up, Reddington has asked the court to dig into Desronvil’s cellphone records, so as to ascertain whether he was making any unsanctioned calls during the time the jury were deliberating. He has also requested that the court investigate whether Reddington has any domestic violence convictions or other involvement with the Plymouth County DA’s office.

Reddington argues that these actions, if proven, mean the judge should have replaced Desronvil with an alternate juror during deliberations. If the judge found that Desronvil should have been replaced, it would allow Reddington to argue there should be no second trial on the grounds of double jeopardy.

A spokesperson for Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz refused to comment on the motion, and prosecutors have not said whether Clancy will face a second trial. However, the murder charges against Clancy still stand, and she remains in a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved.