Is Mary Burton Innocent Or Unjust?
295 Words2 Pages
Mary Burton, an indentured servant, was the key witness to the conspiracy trials of 1741 and whose testimony was the only evidence the court had of a conspiracy. Nevertheless, Burton, although a reluctant witness at first, began to speak of the conspiracies only after being threatened and led to City Hall’s dungeon (Linder). As a result, Burton can be believed to have been unsuitable for the task of a credible witness as a confession could have emerged out of fear for her life, giving way for the development of deceitful evidence. It is for this reason that the dependency that the prosecutions of the conspiracy trials had on Mary Burton is unjust especially as no physical evidence was ever given. In addition, the testimonies given to the Supreme