Giles Corey
My name is Giles Corey. I am 80 years old. I live with my third wife, Martha, on our big farm. Folks think we're rich. Even though I once killed a man, I am a church member.
We heard about the strange behavior of those girls at Rev. Parris's house. Martha, my wife, said she thinks it's all an act. Those girls heard what Martha said. They tell people Martha's a witch. They say they saw my wife praying to the devil. She is jailed in March, 1692. Later she is sentenced to death.
Now, the girls are accusing me! I'll bet their parents put them up to it; those people would love to own my farm! One claims my specter (spirit) asked her to write in the devil's book. The authorities are letting people say they see ghosts or specters, and they are letting that be admitted into evidence. That's not fair! How can I defend myself against someone's crazy tale?
I'm arrested in April and jailed for 5 months. If I go to trial, I'd probably be convicted. If I'm found guilty, they will take away my farm and divide it among the villagers. No! I want my farm to pass on to my daughters, not to those mean and ugly people. What can I do?
I have a plan. I refuse to stand trial. I refuse to confess. That way, they cannot convict me!
On Sept. 19, the authorities take me out of jail. They put a board over my chest. They stack many heavy rocks and boulders on the board. This is how they are trying to make me confess. They want to trick me and take away my farm. So they are punishing me in this cruel way.
It hurt! I ask them to put heavier stones on the board so I'll die faster. I'm a very old man; I've lived a long life; my wife is also condemned and will be hanged. I have nothing else to live for.
I am the only person to be pressed to death. It is a very cruel and unusual punishment. No one else in the colonies has ever been executed like this! But, I'd signed the deed to my farm over to my sons-in-law. By not pleading guilty or having a trial, I keep the authorities from taking the farm away from my family after my death. In this way, I make sure my daughters were provided for. Some folks say I'm a martyr.
One thing's for sure: I am not forgotten. Legend has it that right before anything bad happens around Salem, people see my ghost.
We heard about the strange behavior of those girls at Rev. Parris's house. Martha, my wife, said she thinks it's all an act. Those girls heard what Martha said. They tell people Martha's a witch. They say they saw my wife praying to the devil. She is jailed in March, 1692. Later she is sentenced to death.
Now, the girls are accusing me! I'll bet their parents put them up to it; those people would love to own my farm! One claims my specter (spirit) asked her to write in the devil's book. The authorities are letting people say they see ghosts or specters, and they are letting that be admitted into evidence. That's not fair! How can I defend myself against someone's crazy tale?
I'm arrested in April and jailed for 5 months. If I go to trial, I'd probably be convicted. If I'm found guilty, they will take away my farm and divide it among the villagers. No! I want my farm to pass on to my daughters, not to those mean and ugly people. What can I do?
I have a plan. I refuse to stand trial. I refuse to confess. That way, they cannot convict me!
On Sept. 19, the authorities take me out of jail. They put a board over my chest. They stack many heavy rocks and boulders on the board. This is how they are trying to make me confess. They want to trick me and take away my farm. So they are punishing me in this cruel way.
It hurt! I ask them to put heavier stones on the board so I'll die faster. I'm a very old man; I've lived a long life; my wife is also condemned and will be hanged. I have nothing else to live for.
I am the only person to be pressed to death. It is a very cruel and unusual punishment. No one else in the colonies has ever been executed like this! But, I'd signed the deed to my farm over to my sons-in-law. By not pleading guilty or having a trial, I keep the authorities from taking the farm away from my family after my death. In this way, I make sure my daughters were provided for. Some folks say I'm a martyr.
One thing's for sure: I am not forgotten. Legend has it that right before anything bad happens around Salem, people see my ghost.