The Trial — Edward V'Kanty

It is a matter of public record (and public knowledge) that, in the year 1692, the infamous witch trials swept through the colony of Salem, Massachusetts. Many of the witches tortured and executed, throughout this season of hysteria, were guilty of nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is now common knowledge that, in many of these cases, those accused were targeted simply because another coveted their land or business and, in other cases, it was merely a matter of a love affair gone awry. Whatever the details, more than 200 souls were accused of practicing the wicked and detestable arts, commonly called witchcraft and sorcery. It is thought to have been one of the darkest periods in this country's birth.
However, little known to the public and only sparsely documented is the fact that similar persecutions, fueled by fear and hysteria, swept through many of the Dutch and British settlements in colonial America. In 1665, twenty-seven years before the Salem witch trials, the people of New Yorke believed themselves to be plagued by the devil's works and so the New Yorke Court of Assizes was established to deal with this spiritual epidemic.
Now, you must determine the path this colony is to follow, for there can be no greater responsibility than to be called upon to serve as a juror in these trials. You must read the journal entries of apprentice magistrate Singent Straubb and the court documents regarding the trial of Ralph Hall and his wife Mary. Based on these documents and bearing the knowledge that your choice will send this colony down one of two paths, how will you cast your verdict?