Giles Corey ... More weight

Giles Corey died this week (September 19) in 1692. His death strikes several familiar notes.

Accused of being a warlock and finding his conviction highly likely, he refused to enter a plea. Under the standards of English common law in use at the time, the court could not try him unless he formally requested its judgement on the case by entering a plea. If he was convicted and executed, ownership of his property would revert to the state. The law provided that those who refused to plead should be pressed until they decided to plead.

Corey died after having increasing numbers of rocks laid on him for two days, during which time he still refused to enter a plea. It is traditionally held that all throughout the trial he did not speak, except for his last words before his death: "More weight". A contemporary report indicates that "About noon, at Salem, Giles Corey was press'd to death for standing mute." Since he had not actually been convicted of any crime, his property did not revert to the state upon his death.

So ... seems to me a certain amount of this wasn't just thinking he was a warlock, eh? A little bit of "if we find you guilty, the state gets your property" goes a long way - as many have discovered in our own time.

And you have to admire a law that says "If you don't plead, we'll torture you until you do."

Let's hope Gonzalez doesn't take note of this.