In The Crucible, explain why Giles Corey ''would not answer aye or nay to his indictment.''

This part of the play comes in Act IV, when Elizabeth and
John have their final meeting. They talk of how, having tortured John Proctor, they want
his life, and how others have confessed, all except for Rebecca Nurse and Giles Corey.
Elizabeth tells John how Giles died and how he did not hang, like so many others that
would not confess to their supposed crimes. Note how he
died:

He were
not hanged. he would not answer aye or nay to his indictment; for if he denied the
charge, they'd hang him surely, and auction out his property. So he stand mute, and died
Christian under the law. And so his sons will have his farm. It is the law, for he could
not be condemned a wizard without he answer the indictment, aye or
nay.

So here we see the
dilemma that Giles faced due to the absurd law of the Salem witch trials - if he
confessed to "wizardry", he would lose his name and self-respect (the same choice that
John Proctor needs to make), but if he denied the charge he would hang and the law would
seize his farm. To avoid making that decision, he was crushed to
death, undoubtedly making Elizabeth's assessment of his life
correct:

It
were a fearsome man, Giles
Corey.

Note how the life of
Giles Corey foreshadows the kind of decisions that John Proctor needs to make in the
play.