In the Devil's Snare

New criticism of the trials came from Robert Pike, who was a member of the Governor’s Council. He said the afflicted could be “deluded” in their senses or seeing the devil himself, or Satan could be assuming the shape of innocent people. Given these possibilities, Pike claimed that it was better to allow a guilty person to go free than to execute an innocent person. Yet Cotton Mather continued to maintain that no one had been convicted solely on spectral evidence. The “rising chorus of criticism” (269), however, motivated Mather to write a book in defense of the trials.

The fourth and final session of the court convened on September 6 and lasted through September 17, with 15 cases seen before the grand jury and 14 trials. All 14 were convicted. While some of those convicted fit the profile of typical suspects, others did not. For example, Mary Bradbury had a sworn statement from her pastor attesting to her good character, and 115 people signed a petition for her release, all to no avail. On September 12 and 16, several accused witches, including Edward and Sarah Bishop and John Alden, escaped from the Boston jail. Another, Usher, fled from house arrest.