In the autumn of 1629, the legal proceedings against Michaell Erskine, a miller of middling status residing at Newbattle Milne, began in earnest. Following his initial arrest, Michaell was held in confinement within a small house located above the end of Newbattle Kirk. During this period of detention, the judicial process employed the specific technique of sleep deprivation to secure testimony. On November 5, 1629, Michaell provided a formal confession while held within the house, a document that would serve as the foundational evidence for the subsequent legal actions taken against him.
By the spring of 1630, the case had moved to Edinburgh. On April 2, 1630, Michaell appeared before the court to face the charges brought against him. The proceedings concluded with a verdict of guilty, and the court sentenced him to be executed. In accordance with the judicial practices of the time, the sentence was carried out through the process of strangulation followed by burning. His case remains a documented instance of the legal and capital processes that characterized the period of the Scottish witch trials.