Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has offered “asylum” to the lone holdout juror whose refusal to convict Lindsay Clancy led to a mistrial, after a local news report surfaced allegations about the man’s past.
DeSantis, 46, made the offer Friday on X following an NBC10 Boston investigation that detailed the unidentified juror’s alleged history of domestic violence and a pending eviction case. The governor framed the report as a deliberate smear against a man who had simply refused to let a mother go free after killing her three children.
“A man objected to allowing a woman to kill her three young kids and get away with it, so NBC is trying to smear that juror, whose identity should be protected. Another low for legacy media,” DeSantis wrote on X.
“If the juror is being harassed, Florida will provide asylum — I’m sure he’d be welcomed and appreciated.”
The juror has not publicly identified himself, though fellow panelists have described him as a Black man in his 30s. He was the sole dissenter when the jury split 11-1 on whether to find Clancy not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, forcing Judge Beverly Cannone to declare a mistrial last week in the highly watched Massachusetts case.
NBC10 Boston reported that the juror was accused of attacking his wife in September 2021, and that his nephew obtained a restraining order against him last year. The outlet also found that he faces eviction proceedings over $12,000 in unpaid rent.
Court records show the juror divorced his wife after the 2021 incident and that the criminal charge was ultimately dismissed. His ex-wife told the station she stopped pursuing the case because she feared testifying could cost her custody of her daughter.
Massachusetts juror questionnaires ask candidates whether they have been arrested, charged with a crime, or served with a court order — all of which the holdout juror should have disclosed affirmatively, according to NBC10’s reporting.
Other jurors from the Clancy panel had already begun speaking publicly about their experience with the holdout before the NBC10 report aired. Juror Paula Devlin appeared on CBS Mornings Friday and confirmed to Gayle King that the holdout was a Black man and the only person of color on the jury.
Fellow juror Nick Dargie gave ABC News a detailed account of what he described as disturbing behavior during deliberations. Dargie claimed the holdout never cited evidence or witness testimony to support his position.
“There wasn’t a single piece of evidence or witness testimony that he used to prove why he was thinking the way he was,” Dargie said.
Dargie also alleged the juror used one of the exercise bands Clancy had employed to strangle her children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months — wrapping it around a water bottle to demonstrate the killing method in the deliberation room.
“I was so shocked. We’re not here to play detective – it’s not a game of Clue. This is serious,” Dargie said.
“I asked him why are you doing that? That’s a band that was used to strangle a child. That’s disgusting.”
Clancy, a former nurse from Duxbury, Massachusetts, was charged with murder and strangulation after her three children were found dead in their home in January 2023. Her defense argued she was suffering from severe postpartum depression and psychosis, rendering her unable to understand the wrongfulness of her actions or conform her conduct to the law. Prosecutors countered that Clancy had planned the killings, searching online for ways to kill her children and herself, and that she had the capacity to stop herself. The 11-1 deadlock on the mental health defense came after the jury had already rejected the prosecution’s argument that Clancy was fully responsible.
NBC10 Boston did not respond to requests for comment on its reporting about the juror.
Clancy’s retrial is scheduled to begin in September.