Summary:

• Judge Hathorne interrogates Martha Corey, prompting an angry outburst from her husband Giles, who states that the lies about witchcraft are being spread by Thomas Putnam so that he can confiscate the land of those convicted. Giles Corey is sent out of the courtroom.
• Francis Nurse joins Giles. Nurse’s wife Rebecca was accused of witchcraft during that morning’s trial. Judge Hathorne, Deputy Governor Danforth, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris join them.
• Corey and Nurse demand to share their evidence but Danforth refuses to listen, telling them to write down their information and enter it as an official legal plea for the court to consider.
• John Proctor enters with Mary Warren, who has come to confess that the girls’ testimony and tales of witchcraft have been a fraud and that Abigail swore them to secrecy about dancing in the woods. Abigail’s scheme involved deflecting attention by blaming adults for practicing witchcraft.
• Danforth reminds them that 72 people have already been convicted of witchcraft and assures them that any falsehood or fraud will be detected.
• Parris, worried about the tenuous nature of his position of power, criticizes anyone who may discredit him, focusing on Corey and Proctor, whose power is underpinned by their reputations and honest men. Parris accuses Proctor of trying to overthrow the court.
• Danforth asks Proctor if Mary’s evidence is truthful to which Proctor responds, “It is. And you will surely know it”. Danforth and Parris interrogate proctor about the depth of his and Elizabeth’s religious beliefs and Proctor swears that his wife would never lie.
• Proctor gives Danforth a deposition signed by 91 townspeople. The statement asserts that Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse and Elizabeth Proctor are upstanding Christian women and have never shown any indication that they work with the Devil. Corey is charged in contempt of court for refusing to name those who provided evidence against Thomas Putnam.
• In an attempt to prove to the courts that it was vengeance and greed for land that motivated the witch hunt, John Proctor gives Danforth Mary’s deposition, naming Abigail as the ringleader of their conspiracy. Mary confirms that her statement is truthful and Abigail calls Mary a liar. Proctor, to destroy Abigail’s sway over the court, admits to his affair with her.
• Danforth, remembering Proctors affirmation of his wife’s honesty, brings Elizabeth to court to question her about her husband’s adultery. Elizabeth denies his affair to protect his reputation, and John yells out to tell her that he has confessed to the affair. Mary condemns Proctor, stating that he threatened to murder her if Elizabeth is hanged. Proctor and Corey are arrested and Reverend Hale denounces the witch craft and trials.