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Here's why Shamaiya Hall is charged with capital murder, but Lindsay Clancy isn't

Shamaiya Hall was arrested for stabbing her five children and killing three while Lindsay Clancy strangled three of her children to death

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers' discretion advised.

ITALY, TEXAS: Shamaiya Hall, 25, was arrested for allegedly stabbing her five children and killing three of them in a rural town about 40 miles south of Dallas, on Friday, March 3. She was charged with three counts of capital murder and her bond was set at $6M. If Hall is convicted of capital murder, the Texas mother could be sentenced to death. 

A Child Protective Services worker made the grim discovery after showing up unannounced over the suspicion that Hall, was having unsupervised visitations with her children. Upon arrival, the CPS worker found Hall had stabbed her children, a six-year-old son, five-year-old twins, a four-year-old and a 13-month-old. Authorities reportedly found the twins and six-year-old son had succumbed to their injuries. Hall's incident comes to light as the country is reeling from the case of Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts woman, who was arrested for strangling her three children to death. While the criticism heaped against the accused women is immense in both cases, a surprising question remains as to why Hall was convicted of capital murder while Clancy's charges were not so serious.

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Shamaiya Hall vs Lindsay Clancy: What the law says

Hall's children were under the guardianship of another family member when they were killed. In Texas, capital murder is punishable by life in prison without parole or the death penalty. In contrast, murder is punishable by life in prison, with the possibility of parole. Both murder and capital murder are classified as criminal homicide under Texas law. The two most important distinctions between the two crimes are the way each offense was committed and the punishment that each offense carries.

In Clancy's case, Massachusetts does not give the dealth penalty for even the most heinous crimes. Clancy has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, after being accused of pre-meditated killings. According to the Law offices of William D Kickham in Massachusetts, first degree murder is defined by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 1 as “the unjustified killing of another person with deliberately premeditated malice aforethought, or murder executed with extreme atrocity and cruelty, or murder resulting from the commission of a crime punishable with death or imprisonment for life.”

Prosecutors in Clancy's case said they were certain the children's deaths were premeditated and first-degree murder charges come with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The maximum sentence for a first-degree murder conviction in Massachusetts is life imprisonment without parole. All first-degree murder convictions trigger an automatic appeal to the state Supreme Judicial Court and a vast majority of these appeals are not overturned or successful. Clancy is also facing three counts of strangulation and assault and battery. Her defense team has entered an insanity plea, citing mental health issues that allegedly culminated and wrecked her postnatal mind.  

These could probably be one of the reasons why Hall could be facing a death penalty and while Clancy's trial is mired in a lot of complexities. 

'Pure, unadulterated evil!'

Internet users had mixed reactions toward both Clancy and Hall's fate. One user wrote on Twitter, "Now playing devil's advocate will this woman get the same empathy that Lindsay Clancy is being shown? I say, 'No, she will not.'" Another added, "Pure, unadulterated evil." A third user expressed their opinion on Reddit about Lindsay Clancy writing, "Pretty sure I would want the death penalty. I can't imagine living with that." A fourth user chimed, "There is no death penalty in Massachusetts." A Facebook user commented, "I can’t believe the amount of people defending that Lindsay Clancy who killed her children claiming she did it in a postpartum depression rage. I have officially lost faith in society.  She needs the death penalty!"

 This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online