Giles Corey believes that greed is motivating the witch hunt. In Act Three, he presents Deputy Governor Danforth with a statement that Thomas Putnam was overheard, on the day his daughter accused George Jacobs, of saying that she'd given him "a fair gift of land." Jacobs' land will go up for auction when he is convicted, and Putnam is the only person with enough money to purchase it. Therefore, Giles believes greed is behind the accusations.
He inadvertently caused trouble for his wife, Martha, by talking about how much she likes to read, the fact that she hides her books from him, and that he once had trouble praying while she was in the room but could pray again once she left the house. He spoke of all this to Mr. Hale in Act One, but he never intended to accuse his wife of witchcraft. Nonetheless, she is brought in and eventually convicted and hanged.
Giles attempts to save his wife by bringing his statement to the court, but he does it in such a way that Danforth holds him for contempt. He refuses to name the man who claimed to have overheard Putnam, and so Danforth believes that he is untruthful and has come to overthrow the court with John Proctor. In the end, Giles is taken to jail. He is eventually pressed to death for refusing to enter a plea in court.
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