The Trials and Executions (Edexcel A-Level History): Revision Notes
The Trials and Executions
The trials
The Salem witch trials began with a meeting at the village meeting house, held one day after the initial three suspects were arrested. During this gathering, the afflicted girls provided testimony against the accused women, establishing a pattern that would define the entire proceedings.
Spectral evidence and its role
The trials became characterised by their reliance on spectral evidence, which proved extremely persuasive to the court. This type of evidence was based on testimony claiming that the accused person or their spirit had appeared to witnesses in dreams and visions.
Spectral evidence allowed accusers to claim they had seen the "specter" or spirit of the accused tormenting them in visions and dreams. This meant accusations could be made without any physical proof or witnesses to actual events, making it nearly impossible for the accused to defend themselves.
The afflicted girls made dramatic claims during these proceedings, alleging that:
- The accused witches had forced them to sign the Devil's Book
- They had witnessed the suspects suckling familiars
- These individuals were responsible for causing the fits and physical afflictions they experienced
The acceptance of spectral evidence by the authorities was crucial in securing convictions, as it allowed accusations to be made without physical proof or witnesses to actual events.
Expansion of accusations
As the trials progressed, the circle of accused individuals widened considerably. Initially targeting marginalised women, the accusations soon included more respectable community members, including:
- Reverend George Burroughs - a minister, which demonstrated that even religious authority figures were not immune
- Rebecca Nurse - a respected member of the community
The total number of people accused eventually reached 165 individuals, though only 39 ultimately faced serious charges in court. This dramatic expansion showed that no one in the community was safe from accusation, regardless of their social standing or reputation.
The role of confessions
An unusual feature of the Salem trials was that confessing to witchcraft actually improved a suspect's chances of survival. Several accused individuals chose to confess, including:
- Abigail Hobbs and her stepmother Deliverance Hobbs, who admitted attending a meeting where named witches supposedly plotted to bewitch all of Salem Village
Remarkably, more than 50 people who confessed were ultimately freed, making confession a strategic choice for survival rather than a guarantee of execution. This created a perverse incentive where telling the truth and maintaining innocence could lead to death, while falsely confessing could save your life.
Establishment of the Court of Oyer and Terminer
In May 1692, the newly appointed Governor William Phips established a Court of Oyer and Terminer to officially hear the witchcraft cases. This term comes from Anglo-French and roughly translates as 'to hear and determine'. It was a specially convened court established to investigate this predetermined matter.
Trial proceedings
The courtroom atmosphere during the trials was highly charged and dramatic. Key features of the proceedings included:
- The afflicted girls continued their disturbing behaviour, shrieking, wailing and shouting whenever the accused gave testimony
- Searches were conducted for the Devil's mark on suspects' bodies, though these examinations were often superficial and half-hearted
- The evidence from these searches was nevertheless accepted by the court
A concerning development occurred when one judge resigned within a month of the trials beginning, having become suspicious about the legitimacy of the proceedings. Bizarrely, he was replaced by a prosecuting lawyer, which compromised the court's impartiality further.
Reasons for easy convictions
Several factors contributed to the ease with which convictions were secured:
- Spectral evidence was accepted - The court gave credibility to claims of dreams and visions, which could not be verified or disproven
- Limited defence resources - The accused were provided with very few means to mount an effective defence against the charges
- Character witnesses ignored - Petitions from neighbours testifying to the good character of the accused were generally dismissed by the court
- Gossip accepted as evidence - Long-standing rumours and existing gossip from Salem Village were treated as legitimate evidence
These conditions created a legal environment where it was extremely difficult for the accused to prove their innocence. The combination of unverifiable evidence, limited defence options, and the dismissal of character witnesses meant the trials were fundamentally unfair from the start.
The executions
Early executions
The first execution took place on 10 June 1692, when Bridget Bishop was hanged. She was followed by Rebecca Nurse and Sarah Good on 19 July 1692. These early executions demonstrated that the authorities were willing to carry through with capital punishment for those convicted of witchcraft.
The case of Giles Corey
Giles Corey presented a unique case in the Salem trials. He refused to speak at all during his trial, declining even to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. As a consequence, he was subjected to a brutal form of torture called pressing on 16 September 1692.
The Pressing Procedure:
The pressing procedure involved the following steps:
- Laying the victim on a wooden platform
- Placing another large wooden piece on their chest
- Gradually adding stones to increase the weight
- The weight slowly crushing the victim and causing suffocation
This torture ultimately killed Corey, making him the only person to die by this method during the Salem witch trials.
His wife and daughter were subsequently hanged on 22 September 1692.
The execution of Reverend Burroughs
On 19 August 1692, Reverend George Burroughs was executed alongside several others. At the gallows, he prayed and recited the Lord's Prayer - an act that was supposed to be impossible for a witch according to popular belief.
Even though Reverend Burroughs successfully recited the Lord's Prayer at the gallows (which should have proven his innocence according to contemporary beliefs about witches), this demonstration was not sufficient to save him from execution. This highlighted the determination of the authorities to proceed with executions regardless of contrary evidence.
Final toll
By 22 September 1692, the execution phase of the Salem witch-hunt had claimed:
- 19 people hanged
- 1 person tortured to death (Giles Corey)
Following this date, the witch-hunt began to come to an end, though the trauma and division it caused would last much longer.
Key Points to Remember:
- Spectral evidence (testimony about dreams and visions) was accepted by the court and was crucial in securing convictions, even though it could not be verified.
- The trials were characterised by dramatic courtroom scenes with afflicted girls shrieking and wailing, searches for the Devil's mark, and limited defence opportunities for the accused.
- Confessing to witchcraft actually improved chances of survival - over 50 who confessed were freed, making it a survival strategy.
- A total of 165 people were accused, with 39 facing serious charges, resulting in 19 hangings and 1 death by torture (pressing) by September 1692.
- The Court of Oyer and Terminer was established by Governor Phips in May 1692 to hear the cases, but its legitimacy was questionable - one judge resigned and was replaced by a prosecuting lawyer.