Mary Warren
Born twenty years before the Salem Witch Trials began, Mary Warren became one of the most rigorous accusers -- and also a defender and confessor, a unique role among the accusing girls of Salem Village. As the servant of John and Elizabeth Procter, opponents of the trials who thought that the accusers should be punished, Mary encountered much resistance from the two regarding her participation in the trials. Most significantly, Warren introduced the possibility of fraud on the part of the accusing girls when she stated that they "did but dissemble." Arthur Miller's play The Crucible focuses on this unique aspect of Mary Warren's behavior. After her own confession, Warren more actively participated in the accusations, including those against the Procters. She was released from jail in June, 1692.