Clancy's highly publicized murder trial ended in a mistrial on Sept. 4 after jurors could not come to a unanimous verdict, despite more than a week of deliberations.

Lauren Conlin wrote that the holdout juror seemed quite invested in Kevin Reddington’s arguments during the trial.

Mr. Reddington, 75, also defended Catherine Greig, the longtime girlfriend of the notorious Boston gangster James (Whitey) Bulger, when she was charged with harboring a fugitive. Mr. Bulger’s lawyer, J.W. Carney Jr., is a friend of Mr. Reddington’s who has popped into court to watch him work Ms. Clancy’s case.

A retrial is possible. But for now, the mistrial allows Lindsay Clancy to return, for the time being at least, to a state-run psychiatric hospital rather than a prison cell.

Kevin Reddington called Ted Cruz ’despicable’ after the senator said that Lindsay Clancy should be put on death row.