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Gayle King Shocked Holdout Juror in Clancy Trial Was Black

4 sources · updated 2026-09-12
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0 left · 0 center · 4 right

What happened

On Friday, CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King interviewed Paula Devlin, a juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial in Massachusetts. Clancy was charged in the 2023 strangling deaths of her three children—Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months—and her defense argued she was not criminally responsible because of postpartum psychosis. After nearly 40 hours of deliberation, the 12-person jury (nine women, three men) deadlocked 11-1, and Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial. Devlin told King the panel was 11 white jurors and one person of color; when King asked whether the holdout was a Black man and Devlin confirmed he was, King paused and said, "Whoa, I have to sit with that for just a second." Prosecutors have not announced whether they will retry Clancy; a hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29.
Sourcing check · Fully on the record · 4 articles

3 of 3 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.

What these terms mean and how they're counted
On the record · names a source 3 of 3
On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Paula Devlin, Gayle King and Nick Dargie
Primary evidence · cites a document or data 1 of 3
Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: interview, social media clip
Credits another outlet 0 of 3
The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
Unnamed sources 0 of 3
The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
How it developed
When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 11, 15:38 UTC by New York Post, naming its source. First document within the hour, from Breitbart (interview).
Not counted 1
Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
BLINDSPOT. Only right-leaning outlets are covering this story — the other side's media is silent.
Omitted — what each side leaves out

Unpacked

Left-leaning coverage has not reported Gayle King's interview at all, so those readers would not know she paused on air after learning the Clancy holdout was a Black man. Right-leaning coverage, including the New York Post, reports that King asked twice whether the holdout was a Black man, then said she had to sit with that for just a second. Left-leaning readers therefore miss both the racial makeup of the hung jury and the host's live reaction. Right-leaning coverage disagrees on how far to go beyond the pause. Social-media praise for the holdout appears in Breitbart. The other jurors are called "witches" in the Federalist, which also reports that the defense asked the judge to remove the holdout. What did King say next, after the pause, about why the holdout being a Black man required her to sit with it?
Bottom line

Gayle King said she had to "sit with that" on CBS after a juror said the Clancy holdout was a Black man, and that exchange has appeared in the New York Post but not in left-leaning coverage.

The receipts — 5 facts one side's coverage lacks
  • After being told the holdout was a Black man, Gayle King said she had to sit with that for just a second individual casein New York Post, Breitbart, The Federalist · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • The holdout juror wanted to convict Lindsay Clancy of first-degree murder contextin Breitbart · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • Fellow jurors sent a note to the judge that the holdout was not following instructions on reasonable doubt contextin The Federalist · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • The jury was nine women and three men numberin New York Post, Breitbart · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • Juror Paula Devlin called the holdout very arrogant individual casein The Federalist · absent from left-leaning coverage
The Right View
The New York Post, Breitbart, The Federalist, and Fox News reported King's on-air pause after learning the lone holdout was a Black man, the only person of color on an otherwise white jury, and quoted her remark that she had to "sit with that." They described her as stunned or visibly rattled and highlighted conservative commentary arguing she had assumed the holdout was a white man who could be cast as racist. Those outlets also relayed other jurors' public criticism of the holdout—that he was "arrogant," had trouble "getting over" the killings, and that the jury sent a note saying one juror was not following the court's reasonable-doubt instructions—and noted the defense's effort to address that juror's conduct. Commentators they quoted praised the holdout for refusing to acquit and treated King's reaction as the story's main news.
Our Take (balanced)
The core event is substantive and checkable: a named host, a named juror, a broadcast interview, and a clip in which King twice confirms the holdout is a Black man and then says she has to sit with that. Established facts include the 11-1 mistrial, Devlin's demographic account, King's words, and later on-the-record comments by other named jurors. Not established—and remaining interpretation—are claims about what King assumed, why she paused, or that other jurors acted from racial motive. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for prosecutors' retrial decision around the Sept. 29 hearing, any on-record response from King or CBS, the court record of the jury note on reasonable doubt, and an account from the holdout juror himself.

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