Staff Reports
Kevin Reddington’s live plea on national television was a showy moment. On Good Morning America he asked President Donald Trump to pardon Lindsay Clancy just days after a Plymouth judge declared a mistrial. It was dramatic. It was loud. And it was legally meaningless.
A pardon plea that can’t work
Here’s the plain fact: a U.S. president can only pardon federal crimes. State murder charges in Massachusetts are off the table. So when Reddington looked into a camera and begged President Donald Trump for clemency, he was asking for something the president simply cannot give. Call it a rhetorical flourish, a publicity tactic, or a plain misunderstanding of constitutional law — but don’t call it a real legal remedy. If the goal was to change the record of the case, a presidential pardon won’t do it. If the goal was to get attention, mission accomplished.
Legal theater or tactical malpractice?
Make no mistake: Reddington has aggressively pushed a narrative. He called his client a “wonderful person” and boasted he “crushed” the prosecution — then blamed a lone holdout juror for the deadlock and later tried to walk back his words. That kind of chest-thumping looks less like zealous advocacy and more like trying to win on TV. Meanwhile, Judge William Sullivan saw the case’s heat and ordered juror names sealed for a time to protect their privacy. Praising the accused and publicly scolding a juror doesn’t inspire confidence in the defense’s judgment — it fuels outrage and puts juror safety at risk.
What comes next in court
The mistrial left the case in legal limbo. Jurors reportedly split 11–1, a single juror refusing to join a unanimous verdict. An emergency appeal to a single justice of the state Supreme Judicial Court was denied, and the judge scheduled a status conference for Sept. 29 to decide next steps. Prosecutors have not said whether they will retry the case. Clancy remains in state custody at Tewksbury State Hospital, and the defense continues to press a lack-of-criminal-responsibility theory. Any real mercy or state-level relief would come from Massachusetts authorities — not the White House.
Why conservatives should pay attention
Beyond the circus of sound bites, this episode matters because it tests how we treat the rule of law. Juries, judges, and local prosecutors make criminal justice work. Turning a courtroom fight into a cable-news plea to the president cheapens that process and risks politicizing tragedies that need sober answers. If Reddington is playing to the cameras, fine — but don’t confuse theater with a legal strategy. And for those tempted to lobby for a pardon from the wrong branch of government: learn the lines before you audition.
