Sarah Good - Trial

Trial

On March 15, 1692, Good was tried for witchcraft. She was accused of rejecting the puritanical expectations of self-control and discipline when she chose to torment and “scorn instead of leading them towards the path of salvation". When she was brought in, the accusers immediately began to rock back and forth and moan, seemingly in response to Good’s presence. Later on in the trial, one of the accusers fell into a fit. When it had stopped, she claimed Good had attacked her with a knife; she even produced a portion of it, stating the weapon had been broken during the alleged assault. However, upon hearing this statement, a young townsman stood and told the court the piece had broken off his own knife the day before, and that the girl had witnessed it. He then revealed the other half, proving his story. After hearing this, the judge simply scolded the girl for exaggerating what he believed to be the truth.

Others who testified in Good’s trial claimed to have seen her flying through the sky on a stick, presumably to get to her “witch meetings.” Even her husband testified against her, stating he had seen the Devil’s mark on her body, right below her shoulder. He also told the court he had reason to believe she was either presently a witch, or would soon become one. Dorothy Good, Sarah's daughter who was only four at the time, was later forced to testify against her, claiming that she was a witch and she had seen her mother consorting with the devil. Sarah was pregnant at the time of her arrest and gave birth to Mercy Good in her cell in Ipswich Jail. Mercy died shortly after birth most likely due to malnutrition, lack of medical care, and unsanitary conditions.

Although both Good and Sarah Osborne denied the allegations against them, Tituba admitted to being the “Devil’s servant.” She stated that a tall man dressed all in black came to them, demanding they sign their names in a great book. Although initially refusing, Tituba said, she eventually wrote her name, after Good and Osborne forced her to. There were six other names in the book as well but Tituba said, they were not visible to her. She also said that Good had ordered her cat to attack Elizabeth Hubbard, causing the scratches and bite marks on the girl’s body. She spoke of seeing Good with black and yellow birds surrounding her, and that Good had also sent these animals to harm the girls. When the girls began to have another fit, Tituba claimed she could see a yellow bird in Good’s right hand. The young accusers agreed.

When Good was allowed the chance to defend herself in front of the twelve jurors in the Salem Village meeting house, she argued her innocence, proclaiming Tituba and Osborne as the real witches. In the end, however, Sarah Good was convicted of witchcraft and sentenced to death. Later, Dorothy Good was also accused of witchcraft. Mary Walcott and Ann Putnam Jr. claimed she was deranged, and repeatedly bit them as if she were an animal. Dorothy, incorrectly written as "Dorcas" on the warrant for her arrest, received a brief hearing in which the accusers repeatedly complained of bites on their arms. She was then convicted and sent to jail, becoming at age five the youngest person to be jailed during the Salem Witch Trials. Two days later, she was visited by Salem officials. She claimed she owned a snake—given to her by her mother—that talked to her and sucked blood from her finger. The officials took this to mean it was her "familiar," which is defined as a witch’s spiritual servant. Dorothy was released from jail several months later, and evidently suffered from psychological issues for the remainder of her life.

On July 19, 1692, Sarah Good was hanged along with four other women convicted of witchcraft. While the other four quietly awaited execution, Good firmly proclaimed her innocence. Reverend Nicholas Noyes was persistent, but unsuccessful, in his attempts to force Good to confess. When Sarah Good was claimed guilty by the judges especially Nicholas Noyes, she yelled out, "I'm no more a witch than you are a wizard, take my life and God will give you blood to drink."