Government salem during witch trials

For example, if the crops failed, the Devil may have played a role. With this worldview, it was not a stretch for them to accept 'spectral evidence' of spirits and visions—which was the primary evidence used as proof of guilt during the Salem Witch Trials.

The so-called Witchcraft Act of served as the primary English law for witchcraft, deeming it a felony. A witch convicted of a minor offense could be imprisoned for a year; a witch found guilty twice was sentenced to death.

In , the General Court, the legislative body of the colony of the Massachusetts Bay, wrote the Body of Liberties , the first legal code established in New England. This collection of civil and criminal laws and rights included witchcraft among its capital offenses. Exod, In the English tradition, clear and convincing proof of a crime was needed for a conviction.

Confessions, especially with other evidence and testimony of at least two trustworthy people, constituted the best proof. Though the Salem Witch Trials predated the U.

During the epidemic of witchcraft accusations in Salem, the legal process changed. The trials followed the temporary suspension of the Colony Charter due to political and religious tension between the colony and England. A new governor and a new charter from England arrived in , but the General Court did not have enough time to create any laws.

During the trials held in Salem town in Essex County, the accused were slandered with little recourse and denied rights that should have been granted under English common law. Technically, those accused of practicing witchcraft, or their next of kin, could respond to accusations by filing charges of defamation against their accusers.

However, defendants won only four of fifteen such cases filed. Those convicted of defamation or slander were forced to pay fines and apologize publicly, but the more typical scenario was for courts to charge the accused with lying and add fines or additional punishment. Bearing false witness and committing perjury were considered felonies in Salem; under normal conditions, those convicted of such charges were prosecuted in public forums.

During the witch trials, however, individuals convicted of perjury could save themselves from public humiliation by accusing their neighbors. Most defendants lacked benefit of counsel and were assumed guilty. Those who publicly questioned the guilt of a defendant were likely to be accused of witchcraft themselves. Mostly populated by Puritans, Salem Village was experiencing economic hardship in , and residents were only too willing to blame someone else for their troubles.

The accusers were generally young females between the ages of 11 and The mischief began when a group of girls accused Tituba, a slave from South America who had told their fortunes, of witchcraft after they became mysteriously ill. Responding to increased attention, the girls expanded their credibility by producing a plethora of new evidence against accused witches and spreading the hysteria to neighboring towns. Encouraged by their elders and joined by some peers, the girls began accusing anyone they disliked or feared of being witches.

In court, the girls submitted anecdotal evidence and exhibited strange behavior, including weeping, joking, jerking, barking, writhing, and screeching, to suggest that their accusers were using magic to attack them. Told that they would be shown mercy if they confessed, 54 of the accused witches admitted guilt.

Families and friends often urged their loved ones to confess to save their lives. Families sometimes turned on one another. When Margaret Jacobs confessed to witchcraft, she implicated several others, including her grandfather, Reverend George Burroughs. From February to May, events escalated until residents had been accused of witchcraft.

Formal action was taken against individuals, who were often chained and thrown in jail for months under harsh conditions. There was no statutory criminal law in the colony at that time, and without legal training, the Court of Assistants judged cases and punishments based on what they knew of English law and by their instincts of what they thought was right. This made witchcraft a felony; a witch convicted of a minor offense could receive a year in prison, but any witch accused and found guilty a second time was sentenced to death.

In , the General Court i. The Body of Liberties originally had twelve capital offenses, including witchcraft. The law on witchcraft was short, and cited Biblical sources for its authority:. Facsimiles of this book are owned by the Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries ; and a facsimile is available to read on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts website see especially page In practice, few people were executed for witchcraft before the Salem witchcraft trials of Instead, juries were reluctant to convict, or the accused were given sentences for lighter offenses.

The best proof was a confession, and the testimony of at least two trustworthy people that the accused had acted with magical powers given by the devil. Even confessions were considered doubtful without other evidence.

The Salem witchcraft trials of happened at the worst possible time. The charter of the colony had been temporarily suspended due to political and religious friction between the colony and England. A new charter arrived from England in May , along with the new governor, but as yet, the General Court had not had time to create any laws.

Moreover, the magistrates let it be known that an accused witch could avoid execution by confessing, repenting, and putting the blame on someone else. This caused the accusations to multiply. Nineteen men and women were executed by hanging, one was killed by torture, and others died in prison. This law, modeled on the English Witchcraft Act of , mandated the death penalty for severe acts and repeat offenders, and imprisonment for lesser acts. A new Superior Court of Judicature was created to serve as the highest court in Massachusetts, and in January it began to hear the remaining witch trials.