What kind of defences did the witches use in the salem witch trials?

Question

If they were in court being tried, how did they explain themselves? I want some examples, please!

Ok, I know they usually didn't use excuses, but this is for english class and I need to be creative. Just think up examples that I can expand on.

Answer 1

There was very little they could say--it was a type of mania. The girls who accused them would scream uncontrollably in the courtroom, and since obviously young girls don't lie (or so they believed at the time), they must be witches. It didn't do any good to say they weren't witches--how do you prove a negative? Once you were accused, you were guilty. My favorite person who was accused of being a witch (or warlock, in this case), was a man who was convicted and sentenced to be pressed by stones until dead. He knew that if he admitted to being a witch, all his property would be forfeited to the government, and his wife and children would be left penniless. So rather than confess, his dying words were "More stones!"

Answer 2

Pretty much they had two defenses, deny being a witch or confess and throw themselves on the mercy of the court! One, "Spectral Evidence" could be brought against them, which means someone could just say, "I dreamed this about that person," or those damnedable lil girls could start convulsing in the courtroom((which was done)) and the court believed it! One point, this wasn't the time of U.S.A., it was not what we'd think a proper court of law! There were no defense attorney's per se!

Answer 3

They didn't have much. Since most of the accused were girls, they didn't have any rights to speak in a courtroom. If a woman was accused as a witch, she could either confess or be drowned.

Answer 4

The courts didn't mean anything. They were strapped to a dunking chair.. when they were submerged in the lake water, if they floated the were guilty and burned at the stake if the drowned they were innocent and they were burried face up instead of face down.

Answer 5

Very ineffective ones. Almost all accused of witchcraft were TORTURED into confessing and naming others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials

Answer 6

First of all, they and their accusers were using drugs in forms other than pills which they didn't know would cause problems, mainly the fact they didn't know they were being drugged as they didn't know what we know today.

Answer 7

it was'nt me............