Story perspectives

Clancy tells “60 Minutes” after ex-wife mistrial

By Drooid · Sep 19, 2026, 2:45 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Patrick Clancy appears on CBS’s “60 Minutes” to discuss grief after his ex-wife’s mistrial.
Judge Sullivan declared a mistrial after an 11-1 deadlocked jury on Sept. 4, 2026.
Attorney Howard Cooper said the defamation campaign endangers Clancy’s reputation, livelihood and safety.
Clancy and Dr. Rachel Danis condemned baseless online conspiracy theories accusing him of involvement.
Lindsay Clancy admitted strangling three children in Jan. 2023 and is now paralyzed.

History

Historical Context

After a 1990 dismissal of charges in the McMartin Preschool case—one of the longest, $15 million trials that sparked a nationwide daycare-abuse panic—the district attorney’s office oversaw a series of similar moral-panic prosecutions through the early 1990s. Scholars cite the case as the prototype for the 1983-1995 wave, prompting today’s push for stricter defamation and online-harassment laws.

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Story summary

Patrick Clancy appears on CBS’s “60 Minutes” to discuss grief after his ex-wife’s mistrial.
Judge Sullivan declared a mistrial after an 11-1 deadlocked jury on Sept. 4, 2026.
Attorney Howard Cooper said the defamation campaign endangers Clancy’s reputation, livelihood and safety.
Clancy and Dr. Rachel Danis condemned baseless online conspiracy theories accusing him of involvement.
Lindsay Clancy admitted strangling three children in Jan. 2023 and is now paralyzed.

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