Retired Worcester Judge Carol Erskine says it's hard to predict how long Lindsay Clancy would be committed if jurors find her not guilty by reason of insanity in the strangling deaths of her three children, Cora, Dawson, and Callan.

If jurors find Lindsay Clancy not criminally responsible for strangling her three children, her civil commitment to a mental institution could come up for review every year — making it difficult to predict how long she could remain hospitalized, according to a retired judge.

Clancy would not face "a 'life sentence in a public mental hospital,'" Carol Erskine, a retired Massachusetts judge and child welfare advocate, wrote in a post on X. "She could remain hospitalized for many years — even indefinitely — but only as long as the legal criteria for civil commitment continue to be met."

The first move is in the trial judge's hands, Erskine later told Fox News Digital.

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Lindsay Clancy, charged with the murder of her three children in Duxbury in 2023, appears in Plymouth Superior Court on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

"The initial aspect of what happens is an order by the judge," she said. "If the judge so orders it, a 40-day evaluation in a locked unit."

After that, there would be an evaluation and hearing on whether she should be committed for further.

"If the recommendation is for a civil commitment because there's likelihood of serious harm under the statute, then there would be a commitment for a period of six months," she said. "And that would, again, be in a locked unit."

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Callan, left, Dawson and Cora Clancy. The three children were killed at their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023. (Lindsay Marie Clancy/Facebook)

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Beyond that, Clancy would be up for review every year to determine whether there is still a likelihood of serious harm and if she should still be be committed to a mental institution, she said.

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"It’s really impossible to say how long she would be committed if she’s committed because it all depends on if she is initially committed [and] these yearly evaluations," Erskine said.

Patrick Clancy took the stand as the first witness in the trial. Patrick and Lindsay Clancy were married at the time their three children were killed but have since divorced. (Pool)

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After the evaluation, the facility's superintendent could recommend discharge. If there is a petition to discharge, the district attorney's office and Clancy's defense attorney can be heard in court.

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Lindsay Clancy reacts as doctors testify about efforts to save her children Friday, July 31, 2026. (Josh Reynolds for Daily Mail /Pool)

That's just one potential outcome as jurors, who began deliberating Thursday, weigh Clancy's fate.

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Clancy is charged with three counts of murder in the deaths of her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, who was 8 months old. Jurors could find her guilty of first- or second-degree murder, manslaughter, or not criminally responsible via the insanity defense.

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Exterior view of the home of Patrick and Lindsay Clancy in Duxbury, MA on Wednesday, February 15, 2023.  (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)

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Investigators have said that after strangling them with exercise bands, she attempted to kill herself by cutting herself and jumping out a second-floor window. The resulting injuries have left her paralyzed.

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But her limited mobility is likely not going to be a factor when she is evaluated for her potential for harm in the future, Erskine said.

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"I don’t think it would play a huge role in how they evaluate whether she has a mental illness that creates a likelihood of serious harm because we’re talking about serious harm to herself as well," she explained.

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