At least five people are known to have died in jail during the Salem witch trials. The prisoners died in 1692 and 1693 while awaiting trial, serving sentences, or held after accusations, in overcrowded and disease-ridden jails across Massachusetts.
Among those who died were Sarah Osborne, Roger Toothaker, Ann Foster, and Lydia Dustin. Sarah Good’s infant daughter, Mercy Good, was also born and died in prison. Because records are incomplete and prisoners were moved between jails, historians often phrase the total as “at least five.”
These deaths are separate from the 20 people killed after conviction or torture: 19 were hanged, while Giles Corey was pressed to death after refusing to enter a plea. The prison deaths reveal that the trials were lethal even for people who were never executed. Jailers charged prisoners for food, clothing, and confinement, and accused people could remain imprisoned simply because they could not pay their fees.