Content warning: The following piece contains details about infanticide and the killings of young children, attempted suicide, and postpartum psychosis. Information about free and confidential hotlines related to postpartum mental health conditions and suicide can be found here.

In January 2023, a 32-year-old mother in Duxbury, Massachusetts, strangled her three young children to death and attempted suicide shortly afterward, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Her name is Lindsay Clancy, and the ongoing trial to determine whether she is guilty of first-degree murder has drawn global attention. Clancy’s defense is that she is not guilty by reason of insanity, with her lawyers arguing that she had postpartum psychosis and was overmedicated when she killed her children.

This case is utterly horrific, and as I’ve spoken to friends and family about it, many say they haven’t followed along because it’s too disturbing. Unfortunately, in the true crime era, this livestreamed trial and the media circus around it have turned into a grotesque form of entertainment. While some folks are trying to use it as an opportunity to spread awareness and compassion about postpartum mental health conditions, others are leveraging it to further conspiracies, snark, and conservative attacks on women’s autonomy.

The jury in the case is actively deliberating, and a verdict is expected this week. The most likely outcomes are that Clancy will either go to prison if found guilty or a state mental health facility if found not guilty. Clancy, her former husband Patrick, and their loved ones will have to suffer the greatest consequences of what happened in their house on that terrible day. But when it comes to the viral backlash against Clancy, Patrick, and their families’ supporters, we’ll all have to contend with the fallout. It’s yet another example of how high-profile trials involving women and allegations of violence have sweeping social ramifications.

I’ve immersed myself in the media environment around Clancy’s case, and I think the most vocal and engaged audience can be roughly divided into four camps. I’d argue only one of those camps has anything productive to offer, while the others are largely perpetuating dehumanizing and antifeminist rhetoric.