The legal proceedings against Jonet Slowane, a resident of Ayr, unfolded over the course of a year, beginning with her initial summons to appear in court on 6 April 1658. Following a preliminary investigation ordered by the Justices of the Peace—the findings of which were formally recorded in JC26/26—the case moved toward a definitive resolution. On 30 March 1659, Jonet appeared in the tolbooth of Ayr to face a circuit court. The gravity of the case was reflected in the substantial number of witnesses gathered to provide testimony, a group comprised of fourteen men and ten women. Among those who offered evidence against her was her own daughter, a detail that marks a particularly somber dimension of the trial proceedings.
Records suggest that Jonet was likely either widowed or married to a man surnamed Schaw, and her reputation within the community was such that she was also mentioned in the trial of Maggy Osborne. Upon the conclusion of the proceedings on 30 March 1659, the court reached a verdict of guilty. Consequently, Jonet was sentenced to death, a sentence carried out by the method of strangulation followed by burning. This final sequence of events concluded a judicial process that had begun nearly twelve months prior on the porteous rolls.