Agnes Finnie, a 48-year-old widowed shopkeeper and money-lender residing in the Potterrow area of Edinburgh, found her life irreversibly altered following her denunciation in July 1644. As a woman of middling socioeconomic status, Agnes maintained a presence in her community that extended to the actions of her daughter, who was involved in two notable *flyting* incidents. However, the legal scrutiny directed toward Agnes was far more severe; by December 1644, she faced formal charges including the commission of a demonic pact. Her case proved to be an exceptionally complex legal matter, characterized by extensive pleadings and deliberations that spanned several months.
The trial proceedings were marked by significant tension and procedural rigor. When the court first convened on December 11, 1644, the session was delayed specifically to ensure Agnes had access to defense advocates—a requirement that underscored the gravity of the legal reasoning involved. The atmosphere surrounding the court was volatile, with members of the assize clamoring in the courtroom the day before they were officially sworn in. Over the course of a two-day trial, witnesses were called extra-judicially, and following a lengthy deliberation period that lasted until February 1645, a verdict of guilty was returned. On March 6, 1645, the sentence was carried out at Castle Hill, where Agnes was executed by strangulation and burning, resulting in the forfeiture of her entire estate. Her trial became a lasting point of reference in the Scottish legal landscape, later cited as a witchcraft precedent in the cases of Alexander Drummond, Isobell Young, and Margaret Wallace.
