Lewis again said they were being tormented by Elizabeth's spectre. A few days later, Abigail complained that Elizabeth was pinching her and tearing at her bowels, and said she saw Elizabeth's spectre as well as John's. In April 1692, 31 men from Ipswich, Massachusetts, filed a petition attesting to the upstanding character of John and Elizabeth and denying that they had ever seen anything that would indicate either of the couple were witches. In May 1692, a similar petition was filed on behalf of John and Elizabeth, containing signatures of 20 men and women, including several of the wealthiest landowners of Topsfield, Massachusetts and Salem Village. The petition questioned the validity of spectral evidence, testified to the Christian lives that John and Elizabeth had led, said that they "were ever ready to help such as stood in need of their help," and that the petitioners had no reason to believe the couple were witches. On June 2, 1692, a male doctor and several women completed a physical examination of Elizabeth and several of the other accused. They looked for birth defects, moles or other markings, which were widely believed at the time to be a sign that the person was a witch; the examiners found no such marks. On August 2, 1692, the court met in Salem to discuss the fate of John, Elizabeth and several others. At some point during this time, John wrote his will, but he did not include Elizabeth. Some believe this is because he assumed she would be executed along with him. In spite of the petitions and testimonies from friends, both John and Elizabeth were found guilty, and were sentenced to death on August 5, 1692. Elizabeth, who was pregnant at the time, was granted a stay of execution until after the birth of the baby. John tried to postpone his execution, but failed. On August 19, 1692, John was executed. Elizabeth remained in jail. Action was eventually taken on the petition that John had filed to save his life and that of Elizabeth, but it was too late for him. Release In January 1693, several hundred people were still in prison awaiting trial. On January 27, while imprisoned, Elizabeth gave birth to a son, whom she named John Proctor III after her husband. Elizabeth was not executed as the court had ordered for unknown reasons. In May 1693, the girls began to accuse