Tried with Ballard and five others by…
September 1586 CE
Tried with Ballard and five others by a special commission on September 13–14, Babington tconfesses his guilt but strives to place all the blame upon Ballard.
In all, thirteen are condemned to death for high treason.
Babington writes to Elizabeth on September 19, praying for mercy and, the same day, offers one thousand pounds for procuring his pardon; the next day he is executed with great barbarity in Lincoln's Inn Fields.
The historical significance of the Babington Plot lies in its implication of Mary Stewart.
The only positive documentary proof that Mary had knowledge of the intended assassination of Elizabeth is in a postscript to her final answer to Babington.
The authenticity of this postscript has been challenged, but it is argued that Mary's circumstances, together with the tenor of her correspondence with Babington, place her complicity beyond all reasonable doubt.
Hatton, as commissioner for the trial of Mary, prods Elizabeth's secretary to dispatch the warrant for Mary's execution.
The queen has signed the warrant but has been reluctant to take full responsibility for putting it into effect.