In 1662, during a period of widespread legal agitation in Haddington, a young resident of Boigis named Jon Lyll became caught in the sweeping accusations initiated by James Welch. As one of a large number of individuals denounced by Welch, Jon was formally processed by the authorities during a time when the judicial system was intensely focused on the prosecution of witchcraft. Although the case reached the stage of formal legal proceedings, his age ultimately precluded him from standing trial in the conventional sense.
Instead, the authorities determined that Jon was too young to undergo the full rigors of a criminal trial, leading to his subsequent imprisonment. Despite this decision to withhold a formal verdict, the judicial process remained engaged with him; his own confession, alongside the various denunciations he provided against others, were formally recorded and treated as credible evidence by the presiding officials. His detention stands as a significant reflection of the era’s administrative approach to managing those identified within these volatile networks of accusation.