On this day, Sept. 19, in 1692, Giles Corey was pressed to death after refusing to plead in the witch trials in Salem, Mass. He is believed to be the only person in America to have suffered this punishment.
Corey, 80, was accused of being a warlock after a teenage girl claimed that his specter had visited her in the night and asked her to make a covenant with evil by signing the devil’s book.
Corey refused to take the stand because of his contempt for the court. The punishment was to have a board placed upon his chest, while stones were piled on until he answered the charges.
The sheriff even tried jumping on the boulders to no avail.
After three attempts over two days, Corey refused to answer. Corey’s last words were, “More weight.”
His public death helped bring opposition to the witch trials.
— Scott McCabe
