REBECCA NURSE
The accusation and execution of Rebecca Nurse is one of the most strange of all the cases. Nurse seemed to be a very kind, humble, and Godly woman. No one had ill feelings towards her prior to the Trials. She may have acted maliciously against her husband once, but what woman would not get angry at her husband sometimes?
During her examination, the court asked her many questions about why she would hurt these children and how she was doing it. Nurse had no explanation. She suggested that maybe the Devil was doing it in her shape. She would never do this on her own (Hansen, 53). Also, they claimed to have found "witch's teats" on her body. They were probably just moles (Goss, 23). Nurse was tried on June 30th. Thirty-nine of her neighbors signed a petition stating that she was a good Christian and they had no cause or grounds to suspect her of witchcraft. The jury found it hard to believe that she was a witch, as well. Her verdict was not guilty. The afflicted cried out when they heard this. The judges were not happy about the verdict. However, when Abigail Hobbes (who had confessed) was brought in as a witness against Nurse, Nurse asked, "What, do you bring her? She is one of us." This was understood to mean "Hobbes is a witch like me," when in actuality, Nurse did not think a fellow prisoner could be a witness against her. The jury asked Nurse to explain what she meant. Unfortunately, Nurse was partially deaf and did not hear the question. The jury took her silence as a sign of guilt and changed her verdict to guilty (Hansen, 127-128). Rebecca Nurse was hanged on July 19.
There will be more on the topic in Fraud/Grudge, but it is a possibility that Nurse's accusation was based on fraud. It is suggested that the Nurse family sided with the family that opposed the Putnam's. It is very well known that Ann Putnam, Jr. was one of the biggest accusers.
During her examination, the court asked her many questions about why she would hurt these children and how she was doing it. Nurse had no explanation. She suggested that maybe the Devil was doing it in her shape. She would never do this on her own (Hansen, 53). Also, they claimed to have found "witch's teats" on her body. They were probably just moles (Goss, 23). Nurse was tried on June 30th. Thirty-nine of her neighbors signed a petition stating that she was a good Christian and they had no cause or grounds to suspect her of witchcraft. The jury found it hard to believe that she was a witch, as well. Her verdict was not guilty. The afflicted cried out when they heard this. The judges were not happy about the verdict. However, when Abigail Hobbes (who had confessed) was brought in as a witness against Nurse, Nurse asked, "What, do you bring her? She is one of us." This was understood to mean "Hobbes is a witch like me," when in actuality, Nurse did not think a fellow prisoner could be a witness against her. The jury asked Nurse to explain what she meant. Unfortunately, Nurse was partially deaf and did not hear the question. The jury took her silence as a sign of guilt and changed her verdict to guilty (Hansen, 127-128). Rebecca Nurse was hanged on July 19.
There will be more on the topic in Fraud/Grudge, but it is a possibility that Nurse's accusation was based on fraud. It is suggested that the Nurse family sided with the family that opposed the Putnam's. It is very well known that Ann Putnam, Jr. was one of the biggest accusers.