Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial told the judge Wednesday that they remain deadlocked, the second time in two days they said they were unable to come to a unanimous verdict on whether she was criminally responsible for killing her three children. On Tuesday morning, the jury, then in its fourth day of deliberations, sent Judge William Sullivan a note saying it had been unable to reach a unanimous decision, which is required by law for either a conviction or an acquittal. Sullivan told the jurors to keep trying — a common instruction in criminal trials when juries indicate they are having trouble reaching a verdict. After deliberating in private for the rest of the day, the jury asked at around 3:30 p.m. to go home and resume deliberations in the morning. Shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday, a similar process unfolded, with jurors once again saying they were unable to reach a unanimous decision. Now that they have come back to him twice, Sullivan read special instructions to them and asked them to continue their deliberations. “We shouldn’t be surprised that they’re still struggling with this, but what it looks like is they’re really struggling with this and may not be able to reach a verdict,” said Michael Coyne, NBC10 Boston’s chief legal analyst. Coyne said the judge’s instructions are a “last ditch attempt” to get the jury to reach a unanimous verdict. He said if the jury returns again later in the day and says they are still unable to reach a decision, he is likely to declare a mistrial. But Coyne also said he wouldn’t be surprised if the jury comes back and the judge gives him the night to think on it further. Court began around 9:10 a.m. Wednesday, with Judge William Sullivan issuing a general reminder about the order he has issued in the case relating to jurors, witnesses and others. That reminder came a day after a woman was arrested outside the courthouse, allegedly for photographing jurors. After an extended sidebar with attorneys and jurors, Sullivan excused the jury to continue their deliberations. As he entered court Wednesday morning, defense attorney Kevin Reddington was asked if he expects a verdict today. “I don’t know. Hopefully,” he said. Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, doesn’t deny strangling her children, but she says postpartum psychosis led to her actions. Prosecutors argue that she knew what she was doing. Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility. If you or someone you know is struggling or in emotional distress, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support. Jurors heard testimony from relatives and doctors about how her mental health declined in the months before the killings and how her treatment included several medications and a short stay in a psychiatric hospital. Medical experts hired by the prosecution and the defense reached sharply different conclusions about her psychiatric state when she killed the children. If jurors ultimately can’t agree on a verdict, the judge could declare a mistrial. Prosecutors would then have to decide whether to put Clancy on trial again, drop the charges or try to negotiate a plea deal with her lawyer. After court ended Tuesday, Reddington said he saw it as a good sign that the jury kept working. “The fact that they have not said that they’re done is very, very heartening,” he said. “Obviously, they’re working very hard.” If the jury decides Clancy was criminally responsible for her actions, it could convict her of either murder or manslaughter. If she is acquitted, a judge could still order her confined to a mental health facility if an evaluation determines that she poses a danger to the public. More on the Lindsay Clancy case Crime and Courts Sep 1 Lindsay Clancy jury to keep deliberating after telling judge they're deadlocked This story originally appeared on NBCBoston.com. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less