Trials Proceedings

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Trials Proceedings

Exordium

“I stand before the court and jury in defense of Sarah good who has been accused of witchcraft and sorcery by the residents of Salem on March 6. The accusers, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams claims of physical and emotional abuse at the hand of Miss. Good is otherwise unfounded and baseless as there lacks substantial evidence of the crime committed that supports that indeed Miss. Good practices sorcery (Gibbons 186). The evidence provided by the accusers is presumably unfounded as they only point out to the characteristics flaws exhibited by the defendant rather than Satanist rituals performed. Thus, I would like to request the court to observe this trial with an open mind on the fictional elements within the accusers’ confessions as well as that of my client.

Character’s Story

My client, Miss Good, has lived a life that can be characterized as hard and unappealing from all areas of life. She lost her father who was a wealthy man who owned estates. This loss was further worsened by early marriage, which led to the ownership of the inheritance by her late husband. Despite having lived a luxurious and well-to-do lifestyle, Miss good experienced the devastating death of her husband the late Mr. Daniel Poole, however, she would face other tragedies as was to remarried again and face debtors (Gibbons 186). On her second marriage, my client has faced worse troubles ranging from seizure of her shared property with her second husband as well as destitution, which has left her and children to beg for shelter, food, and clothing.

My client has encountered the worse torment of sleeping hungry and watching her children and husband struggle a fate that she never imagined for her family. She has been left bitter, angered, filled with regret and emotionally drained which has completely changed her personality into what she has become today, a socially unfit individual (“The “Afflicted Girls” Of Salem Village , Massachusetts – The Many Women Who Accused Members Of The Community Of Witchcraft.” N.p). However, is it right to condemn a person based on their overwhelmingly intense personality that has developed by life struggles and poverty? Does our rooted puritan belief accept death of an innocent individual whose only crime was to murmur in the face of disappointment? I arrest my case.

Arguments in Support of Sarah Good’s Innocence

The main contention that I will introduce in protecting Sarah Good depends on the saying of witchcraft and the ghostly confirmation gave by the admissions of the informers. The second contention is the deception portrayed by one of the witnesses, which has totally scrutinized the validness of the charges recorded against Miss Good. Amid the trial, one of the witnesses has admitted to having being wounded with a blade by Sarah Good. The third contention embodies the guile in indications saw from restorative examinations of the informers in contrast with the medicinal conditions saw from a portion of the Salem individuals amid the Rye reap.

First argument

The first argument that I will present in defending Sarah Good is based on the maxim of witchcraft and the spectral evidence provided by the confessions of the accusers. The accepted maxim as has been elaborated in the cases of maleficence is that the witness testifies about being tormented by the appearance of the accused spiritual form, which at the time it is at another locality (Jobe n.p). The plurality of this occurrence, as observed, is not stated in this maxim only that witches and demonic persons posses the ability to appear in spiritual forms to distract and dissuade religious people from abiding with the belief of God’s grace and mercies. According to the earlier testimony of the accusers as recorded by the prognosis made by Dr. William Griggs following his summon by Reverend Parris, the girls experienced convulsions, made gestures and noises as screamed in a manner to indicate they were in a pain inflicted trance. On being questioned and pressed, the named person as being the tormentor was Sarah Osborn, Miss Good, and Tituba. I would request the jury to pay close attention now.

This claim implies plurality in witnessing spectral spirits, which goes against the validity of the maxim. According to the maxim, the devil is liable for working through a single person to afflict the other in persuasion to the afflicted to abscond their Christian faith (Jobe n.p). The question I would direct to the accusers would be was the appearance of the spectral spirit unclear this making it difficult for the accused to recognize who assailed and tormented them? If the accused were indeed a witch, which of the children saw her in here spiritual form as she would only appear to one particular individual at a time? In addition, where their sentiments biased based on the appalling character of my defendant? Because there is unclear narration, which child saw Miss Good in their spectral form during their torment and torture episodes, which occurred simultaneously, it is unlikely that the provided evidence is true according to the law of Salem?

The second argument is the falsehood depicted by one of the witnesses, which has completely questioned the authenticity of the charges filed against Miss Good. During the trial, one of the witnesses has confessed to having being stabbed with a knife by Sarah Good. According to the witness, the accused appeared to her in her spirit form and grievously attacked her with a knife that she has presented as evidence. The knife presented which is broken as been claimed by a bystander in the court who has confessed to having thrown away the pointer, which has been presented, by one of the accusers to corroborate her story pertaining to the attack on her by the defendant (“The “Afflicted Girls” Of Salem Village , Massachusetts – The Many Women Who Accused Members Of The Community Of Witchcraft.” N.p). The laws of Salem governed by our Puritan beliefs clearly rebuke testifying wrongfully against one’s neighbor. In addition, based on this confession, by casting doubts on the validity of the accusation levied against my client, is it not right to state that it also dilutes the credibility of the witnesses depicting them as collaboratively seeking to condemn an innocent old woman to the gallows?

The third argument exemplifies the duplicity in symptoms observed from medical examinations of the accusers in comparison to the medical conditions observed from some of the Salem members during the Rye harvest. The symptoms elaborated by William Griggs have been common within Salem during the current harvesting of rye. Some of the signs observed from similar cases include vomiting, hallucinations, violent fits and crawling skins sensations (Jobe n.p). Based on the further research that I have conducted with the assistance of medical scholars from Boston, cases of violent fits as observed from the accusers reports have been recorded across Salem and Boston attributed to the ergot being ingested and manifesting as the mentioned symptoms. I sincerely belief that the accusations levied against Sarah appearing in the form of an apparition and  tormenting the accusers is unfounded based on the lack of medical reports of whether the latter suffer from the devastating effects of ergot ingestion. I would request the court to consider the possibility of this claim in attribution to the visualization of apparitions and violent fits that the accusers have since suffered form in order to create a clear definitive directive on the cause of their torment.

Sarah Good has proven beyond reasonable doubt of her innocence pertaining to her involvement with the three accusers who have levied witchcraft charges against her. Based on the evidence provided, the confessions recorded have been falsified given the account of the alleged stabbing of one of the girls by the defendant’s apparition. The testimony of the one of the participants in the court hearing has indicated the need for review of this case as some of the information provided are untrustworthy thus dismissible in court. Secondly, the plurality in the occurrence of the apparitions implicating three accused ladies inclusive of Osborne, Tituba and Good is misleading and therefore unreliable based on the maxim of spectral evidence as only one apparition of an individual can occur at one particular time and on one individual. It is also imperative to consider the statement brought forward by Sarah Osborne basing on the occurrence of apparitions as a work of the Devil and lack of compliance from an individual. In that. The Devil might appear in an apparition resembling another person without his or her compliance. Thus, as Puritans and our deep-rooted faith in showing mercy were granted, we should endeavor to conduct practical evidence to clearly reveal any form of involvement of Sarah Good in the afflictions experienced by the accusers. Thank you.”

Works Cited

Gibbons, Jenny. “The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Legal History:The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Legal History.”. Nova Religio 3.1 (1999): 185-186. Web.

Jobe, Sarah. “Salem Witch Trials: Sarah Good”. Salem.lib.virginia.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

The “Afflicted Girls” Of Salem Village , Massachusetts – The Many Women Who Accused Members Of The Community Of Witchcraft.”. Legendsofamerica.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.