At the end of the short story, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters have become the true “jury of peers” to Minnie Wright, determining amongst themselves that Minnie killed John in a type of self-defense. They see his death as warranted for the long, slow killing of Minnie’s spirit, and they know that in the courts of men this would not be considered legitimate. The men cannot see Minnie as anything other than insane or wicked, and they need to find a way to control both her and what she symbolizes.