 In Arthur Miller 's play The Crucible , Danforth is depicted as the leading judicial figure overseeing the Salem trials . William Stoughton is not a character in the play , and Miller portrays Danforth as an honest but domineering and selfish judge , under whose authority many are imprisoned and sentenced to hang . When John Proctor , an accused , defies his authority at the end of the play by refusing to lie and sign a public confession saying that he is a witch and accusing others , he is mercilessly sentenced to hang . In an introduction to the play , Miller wrote that he had combined several persons and made other changes to the historical characters for dramatic purposes . 
