harboured Catholic priests in her house. She died together with her unborn child within fifteen minutes under a weight of at least 7 cwt (). Several hardened criminals yielded to the torture: William Spiggot (1721) remained mute for about half an hour under , but pleaded to the indictment when an extra were added; Edward Burnworth (1726) pleaded after an hour and three minutes at . Others, such as Major Strangways (1658) and John Weekes (1731), refused to plead, even under , and were killed when bystanders, out of mercy, sat on them. In America, Giles Corey was pressed to death between 17 and 19 September 1692, during the Salem witch trials, after he refused to enter a plea in the judicial proceeding. According to legend, his last words as he was being crushed were "More weight", and he was thought to have been killed as the weight was applied. This is referred to in Arthur Miller's political drama The Crucible, where Giles Corey is pressed to death after refusing to plead "aye or nay" to the charge of witchcraft. In the film version of this play, the screenplay of which was also by Miller, Corey is crushed to death for refusing to reveal the name of a source of information. See also Asphyxia Crush syndrome Crushing (execution) References Further reading McKenzie, Andrea. "'This Death Some Strong and Stout Hearted Man Doth Choose': The Practice of Peine Forte et Dure in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century England". Law and History Review, Summer 2005, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 279–313. External links Forfeiture in England and Colonial America The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, Reference Number: t16760823-6 (23 August 1676) Common law Pleas Torture