In December 1650, the legal apparatus of the early modern Scottish state focused its attention upon Margareat McInlay, a resident of the burgh of Dumbarton. Her encounter with the judicial system is recorded in the surviving registers as case C/EGD/18, dated the 2nd of that month. At this time, Scotland was navigating a period of intense social and religious upheaval, and the prosecution of witchcraft was a frequent occurrence within the local courts, often initiated by local magistrates or kirksession authorities who held the power to investigate allegations of maleficium or diabolical pacts.
While the specific charges brought against Margareat remain absent from the surviving documentation, the gravity of the proceedings against her is evident in the subsequent trial notes, T/JO/1145. The record confirms that a commission was issued regarding her case—a procedural necessity for capital prosecution during this era. Although the specific testimony or evidence presented against her has been lost to time, the judicial record indicates that a sentence was carried out. Given the context of the commission mentioned in the archives, it is highly probable that Margareat was executed following these legal proceedings, marking the finality of her encounter with the authorities in Dunbarton.