In the autumn of 1597, Bessie Aiken appeared before the courts in Edinburgh to face charges that included attending a meeting of witches. The legal proceedings concluded with a guilty verdict, resulting in a sentence of death. However, the execution was stayed as Bessie remained incarcerated, and while in prison, she gave birth to a child. The physical toll of the confinement and the demands of recent childbirth left her in a state of significant suffering, a condition that would become central to the final resolution of her legal case.
On August 15, 1598, nearly a year after her trial, Bessie submitted a formal petition to the authorities. She sought to have her capital sentence commuted, citing her fragile state and the circumstances of her motherhood. The court granted her request, commuting the death sentence to one of banishment. While the records note that she had been consulted by a man from South Leith, it remains unclear if that was her original home; nonetheless, the conclusion of the case saw her removed from the jurisdiction of Edinburgh, ending her involvement with the legal system of the city.