They were
reluctant because Mary and John’s motives were suspicious – they suddenly
appeared in court to tell the ‘truth’. They [the court] were suspecting that
since Elizabeth [Proctor] was arrested, John Proctor forced Mary to do it and
it was against her decision to tell the story about the witchcraft that saved
the life of John’s wife. If they stop the trial, they would not be able to solve this mysterious case at all.
