WASHINGTON — A member of Georgia’s congressional delegation wants to add new restrictions to the use of insanity defenses in murder cases.
U.S. Rep. Clay Fuller said insanity defenses needed further regulation in the wake of the Lindsay Clancy trial.
The mother of three was accused of killing her young children in Massachusetts in 2023.
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The closely watched trial was recently declared a mistrial after a single holdout in the jury couldn’t sign onto a guilty verdict.
After that news became public, Fuller said action was needed to curb use of the insanity defense, saying “mental illness is not a get out [of] jail free card.”
The Georgia congressman also took issue with the single juror, saying “As a juror, you probably should have stopped deliberations at ‘the fact that Lindsay viciously killed her children. ’Call me insane, I guess.”
As for the insanity defense, Fuller said he would introduce federal legislation to limit that option as a defense strategy in federal criminal cases.
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