Case file · Witch trials
The Guernsey witch burnings of 1617
On 17 October 1617 three women of Guernsey, accused of meeting with the Devil at Le Catioroc near Rocquaine, were burned at the stake after confessions extracted under torture.
1617 CE · 49.45, -2.54 · status: official
The account
Witch trials in the Channel Islands ran from 1562 to 1661 and were proportionally among the most severe in the British Isles, influenced by French law and practice.
The sceptical view
Confessions came from torture, which was legal on the islands but not in English common law.