The plot began to crumble when people complained

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
February 5, 2025

Don't dwell on how it happened; focus instead on how it could happen again.

After a group was caught doing something wrong, they lied and accused others. Influential people saw an opportunity to use the group. They supported outrageous claims made because of the opportunity they saw to seek more power and control over the people. It worked when they accused marginalized members of society because they were easy targets.

It worked so well that they accused business rivals and others they simply had a grudge against.

The plot began to crumble when people complained. Those who dared to take a stand were accused. It wasn't that anyone believed them guilty. They were being used as an example to anyone contemplating stepping out of line. It became a matter of "them against us." 

No matter how many or how hard they tried to stop the insanity, it became clear that the accusers were willing to go after entire families.

They had rich and powerful people supporting them. The fate of the accused was sealed. 

The original small group of accusers gave others permission to attack others. They were empowered to accuse their enemies. It spread beyond control. 

It may all seem like the topic is about what is happening today. Still, it happened in 1692 when accusations caused the murder of twenty innocent people, another five died while being held in four different dungeons, and countless others carried their horrific confinements for the rest of their lives. Back then, there were no laws against torture. No one lied under oath because no one had to swear to God they would tell the truth. No laws existed to prevent torture, and all too often, children had been tortured.

There were no laws against double jeopardy. One was found not guilty, and the other saw her trial end. However, the judges didn't like the outcomes, so they tried again. 

Rebecca Nurse and her sister Mary Easty. Truth meant nothing.

Perhaps due to pressure from community around Easty, all of the accusers, except Mercy Lewis, began to back off their claims and Easty was released from jail on May 18.

The details of what happened next provide undeniable clues about the power of the accusers and the impossibility of conducting a fair juridical process. After Easty's release, Mercy Lewis fell into violent fits and appeared to be approaching death. Mercy Lewis later explained that Easty was tormenting her, and "said [Easty] would kill [Lewis] before midnight because she did not cleare hir so as the Rest did." (Salem Witchcraft Papers, I: 124) Mary Walcott, Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam were brought to her bedside in an effort to discover who was tormenting Mercy. Along the path to the Mercy's house, Ann and Abigail explained that they saw Easty's specter tormenting Mercy, strongly suggesting a collaboration effort had already taken place before Mercy began her torments. Frances Hill in A Delusion of Satan calls this episode a propaganda scheme to show doubting Villagers the dire consequences of freeing witches from jail. Mercy and four others cried out against Easty on May 20. Mercy's fits did not cease until Easty was back in prison in irons demonstrating the effective power of the accusers.

While Easty remained in jail awaiting her September 9 trial, she and her sister, Sarah Cloyce, composed a petition to the magistrates in which they asked, in essence, for a fair trial. They complained that they were "neither able to plead our owne cause, nor is councell allowed." They suggested that the judges ought to serve as their counsel and that they be allowed persons to testify on their behalf. Easty hoped her good reputation in Topsfield and the words of her minister might aid her case in Salem, a town of strangers. Lastly, the sisters asked that the testimony of accusers and other "witches" be dismissed considering it was predominantly spectral evidence that lacked legality. (Salem Witchcraft Papers, I: 303) The sisters hoped that the judges would be forced to weigh solid character testimony against ambiguous spectral evidence. The petition did not change the outcome of Easty's trial, for she was condemned to hang on September 17th. But together with her second petition, Easty had forced the court to consider its flaws.

It did not spare her life.

Easty was hanged on September 22, 1692. Her demeanor at Gallows Hill is documented by Calef: "when she took her last farewell of her husband, children and friends, was, as is reported by them present, as serious, religious, distinct, and affectionate as could well be exprest, drawing tears from the eyes of almost all present." Easty challenged the court to no personal avail, but she exposed the weakness of the court for the benefit of others.

Sister Rebecca Nurse was found not guilty.

Rebecca Nurse’s grand jury trial was underway by June 29. Sarah Good, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe, and Sarah Wildes were tried at the same time. In the courtroom, Nurse’s daughter Sarah witnessed Goody Bibber deliberately stick her own knees with pins, pretending to be afflicted.

But that wasn't enough,

Nurse was found not guilty. The afflicted in the room reacted wildly. The outburst was enough to concern the magistrates and jury foreman. In particular, Chief Justice William Stoughton was not satisfied with the verdict.

A third sister, Sarah Cloyce, was also accused but was eventually released after being held for nine months, and the trials stopped.

Cloyce would eventually be transported to Boston jail and then Ipswich jail where she awaited her trial. By the third week of April, her sister Mary Easty was also arrested for witchcraft. Rebecca Nurse was hanged on July 19. Mary Easty was hanged on September 22, the last day of executions.

Most find it hard to believe that those behind the retched events were not just allowed to live out their days freely, but most were rewarded. Outwardly, they carried no shame, but Judge Hawthorne's great-grandson Nathaniel wrote that the trials stained the Judge's soul with blood. 

As for Salem Village, where it all began, you won't find it on a map. It no longer exists. They changed it to Danvers.