The psychiatrist, Dr. Avram Mack, was called by the prosecution as a rebuttal witness

NEED TO KNOW

• A forensic psychiatrist testified that he believes Lindsay Clancy knew right from wrong when she killed her children and that she was not in a state of psychosis
• Dr. Avram Mack testified as the prosecution’s first rebuttal witness
• Earlier in the daya psychiatrist called by the defense said he believed Clancy was “frankly psychotic”

After the defense rested its case in Lindsay Clancy’s trial, prosecutors called their first rebuttal witness as they try to push back on the claim she was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she killed her children.

Dr. Avram Mack, a forensic psychiatrist, took the stand Friday, Aug. 21, and testified about his evaluations of Clancy following the killings, notably saying he did not believe she showed signs of psychosis.

His testimony was streamed live by the Associated Press.

Clancy is charged with the murder of her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan, whom she strangled to death in January 2023. She has pleaded not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility and her defense hinges on the argument that she had postpartum psychosis.

The defense called multiple witnesses to testify about her apparent declining mental state in late 2022 into early 2023, culminating with the testimony of psychiatrist Dr. Phillip Resnick, who said he believed Clancy was “frankly psychotic.”

Following Resnick’s testimony, prosecutors called Mack to rebut the defense.

Mack said Friday that while there were signs Clancy suffered from a major depressive episode when she killed the kids and attempted suicide, he believed she still had the capacity to tell right from wrong.

Having reviewed the case, Mack testified that prior to the killings, Clancy had normally interacted with others and had taken Cora to the doctor hours before fatally strangling her.

“There was the ability to act normally,” Mack testified.

And when Clancy strangled the children, Mack testified that she said, “Go to God.”

Mack testified he believed that statement meant she knew her children were innocent when she killed them and that she still did so methodically.

During cross-examination, Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, engaged in several testy exchanges with Mack, including when he appeared to call Mack’s qualifications into question by pointing out that he specialized in adolescents.

Mack said that he possessed general expertise and that he had worked with around 10 women with postpartum psychosis since 2001.

Reddington also took issue with the fact that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the primary resource used to diagnose psychiatric conditions, does not currently recognize postpartum psychosis as its own disorder.

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The day ended with Mack still on the stand.

Two witnesses who were on Friday’s witness list were not called. The prosecution is expected to continue its rebuttal Monday. Following the rebuttal, the attorneys will give their closing arguments.

Earlier Friday, Resnick, the final defense witness, said he believed Clancy had experienced “command hallucinations” telling her to kill her children and herself.

“It was almost like she was a puppet and someone else was pulling the strings,” Resnick testified.

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