Giles Corey, an elderly farmer with a bad reputation was crushed to death

The Most Famous Pressing Happened During The Salem Witch Trials

Europeans were creative when it came to torture. They developed some of the most excruciating and slowest methods of torture in history, including the horrific blood eagle torture method. But one of the worst forms of torture was not even considered torture by the court. It was an official sentence: pressing to death. The men and women who were sent to death by crushing in Britain had not been found guilty of any crime. In fact, they refused to plead innocent or guilty, and pressing was supposed to coerce them to enter a plea so they could go to trial. The victims could end their torment at any time if they simply cried out "not guilty." The most famous case of pressing to death comes from the Salem witch trials. During the panic over witches that swept the village of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, nearly 200 people were accused of witchcraft. A special court was created to hear the cases, and 18 people were convicted and executed by hanging for the crime of witchcraft. One of the accused was Giles Corey, an elderly farmer with a bad reputation. Nearly two decades earlier, Corey had beaten a man to death for stealing apples. And Corey's wife, Martha, had also been accused of witchcraft. On September 9, Martha was convicted of witchcraft and sentenced to be executed. Just days later, the same court told Giles that he would stand trial for witchcraft. He refused, and the court decided to press him.

Giles Corey Called for "More Weight" As He Was Being Pressed

Giles Corey had seen how the court had twisted the words of his wife, Martha, during her trial for witchcraft. And he refused to allow himself to be put through the same thing. So to force Giles to enter a plea, the court pressed him. Corey was stripped naked, and a board was placed on his body. Heavy stones were set on top. The torture went on for a full day, with Giles refusing to enter a plea. The only words he spoke were, "more weight." On the second day, even more stones were added until the weight was unbearable. On September 19, 1692, Giles finally died after two days of being pressed. He was buried in an unmarked grave.

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