Trial begins in Massachusetts case against Lindsay Clancy over the deaths of her three children

What is the main question jurors are being asked to decide?

The trial is focused on Clancy's mental state and legal responsibility. Jurors are being asked to weigh the prosecution's claim that she understood and planned her actions against the defense claim that severe postpartum mental illness left her not criminally responsible NBC Boston,U.S. News & World R…,Independent.

Why has this case drawn attention beyond the local court proceedings?

Several outlets say the case has become a broader test of how the legal system handles postpartum psychosis and related mental-illness defenses after mothers kill their children. That has made the trial part of a wider debate involving both legal standards and medical understanding of postpartum psychiatric disorders NYT,Independent.

What do we know about the first day of testimony?

Reports said Patrick Clancy, Lindsay Clancy's former husband, was expected to be the first witness and was called after opening statements. Coverage of his testimony said he described her mental health as worsening in the months before the children's deaths East Idaho News,BBC,NBC News.