‘Tis hard proof! I find here a poppet Goody Proctor keeps. I have found it, sir. And in the belly of the poppet a needle’s stuck. I tell you true, Proctor, I never warranted to see such proof of Hell, and I bid you obstruct me not.
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 2. This is but one of many examples of the Salem witch trials court and officials jumping to conclusions of guilt on the flimsiest of evidence. A seemingly innocuous poppet, a gift from Mary Warren to Elizabeth, suddenly takes on a sinister importance. Clerk of the court Ezekiel Cheever declares that the doll found in the Proctor home is "hard proof" of witchcraft. On foot of his discovery and Abigail claiming to have been stabbed by a needle, Elizabeth is arrested. Thus Cheever helps set in motion the persecution of the innocent Elizabeth and plays a key role in what masquerades for justice in Salem.