Next, the cases of Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey served as a stark juxtaposition to those prior. Nurse and Corey were not outsiders in society like the others; instead, they were considered upstanding elder women. Moreover, Nurse and Corey strongly opposed the girls’ “antics” and they challenged the investigation, to no avail. In these cases, we see some of the girls’ finest work in producing spectral evidence. Ann Putnam stated, I saw the Apperishtion of gooddy Nurs: and she did immediatly afflect me but I did not know what hir name was then: tho I knew whare she used to sitt in our Meeting house: but sence that she hath greviously afflected me by biting pinching and pricking me: urging me to writ in hir book and also on the 24'th of march being the day of hir examination I was greviously tortored by …show more content…
Thus, he forced the court to hold him in contempt. Yet, he did not force them into the punishment they chose. On September 19, Giles Corey died from being pressed to death with heavy stones for two excruciating days. This was the final straw of the Salem witchcraft trials. For, at this point, the public realized what was truly occurring. According to Hoffer, “Corey’s death was unique; no one in the colony had seen such an execution–for that is what it became. Finally, by allowing himself to be crushed, Corey gave back fortitude and courage rather than spite and bewilderment, unlike Bishop, Good, and others.” Thus, a shift had to occur. Although the Ministerial Association began advocating for the end of spectral evidence in June of 1692, it was not until January of 1693 that such was finally realized when Governor Phips ordered the court to disregard spectral evidence. Though there were still accusations and over fifty more trials, spectral evidence was no longer allowed, and all but three of the remaining suspects were