In the winter of 1628, the legal apparatus of Dunbarton began to formalize proceedings against Janet Boyd, a woman of middling socioeconomic status residing in the burgh of Dumbarton. As the wife of a local burgess, Janet occupied a position of relative stability within the community, yet this status did not shield her from the scrutiny of the kirk and civil authorities during this period of heightened anxiety. Following the formal recording of her confession in 1628, the judicial process moved toward a final resolution.
On January 13, 1629, the case against Janet (C/EGD/1054) reached its conclusion within the legal framework governing witchcraft trials in early modern Scotland. The trial (T/LA/508) resulted in a verdict that culminated in her execution. By prioritizing the testimony contained within her own confession, the court finalized the proceedings against Janet, marking the end of her life in accordance with the judicial outcomes common to such cases in seventeenth-century Dumbarton.