Misplaced Loyalty

When James McDermott murdered Mr. Kinnear and Nancy (with or without the help of Grace Marks), he wrongfully took the lives of two people who had not harmed him in any serious way. Although they may have inconvenienced him or Nancy’s remarks may have been emotionally abusive, he still had not right to murder them. In “Alias Grace” and the real-life case, we are unsure whether Grace is as innocent as she claims. However, I believe Grace is definitely guilty of remaining loyal to McDermott after the murders occurred.
The pair are on the run when Grace has the opportunity to flee from McDermott. And even though he has assured Grace that they will either “hang together or hang separately”, she could have escaped and gone to the authorities. However, according to Grace:
“There is something despicable about betrayal; and I’d felt his heart beating next to mine, and however undesired, still it was a human heart; and I did not wish to have any part in stilling it forever, unless I should be forced to it.”
It is understandable that Grace does not want to be the one to end McDermott’s life, but I fully believe that she was truly innocent (or at least thought herself innocent) Grace could have gone to the authorities and reported the murders. Her misplaced loyalty to McDermott may have been one of the strongest factors leading to her perceived guilt.