In the Salem witchcraft trials the accused did not receive fair trials or treatment. They were treated with no respect once accused and the trials were based on tribulation only. Many of the “witches” did not get justice. The accused also only had to be mentioned by a person of the town and were automatically a witch in the eyes of the people. Anyone could accuse someone.
Many were accused by others for disputes between families, political reasons and to gain more land and wealth. When they were said to be a witch they had two choices in their defense, one to admit they were working for the devil and doing witchcraft only to get treated bad for the rest of their lives by the people in Salem. By admitting those things they kept themselves from getting hung but they had to spend time in jail. Second, they could tell the court officials they were not working with the devil and doing his dirty work and get hung for lying. If you did not confess, they would torture you until you did or perform tests to see if you were a witch or not. The tests the people had to go through to try and prove their innocence were ridiculous.
There was the water test, if they floated they were associated with the devil, if they sunk they were innocent. They were also checked for the devil’s mark. They searched for marks in the shape of an animal and if they could not find one they said it was invisible and blood could not be taken from it. Which led to the next test. The person was pricked with long needles and if in one spot they did not bleed they were evil. Another test was the accused inability to cry.
The Essay on Salem Witch Trials People Accused Witches
Deep inside a town in Massachusetts innocent people were accused of the devil's work, witchcraft. God-fearing Puritans took it upon themselves to exterminate Satan's followers influenced by anti-witch ideas and other sources including books and the words of various priests. Over 100 people were given unfair trials; many were jailed while quite a few were lynched. Although the Salem witch trials ...
They would do certain things to them and if they did not cry that was evidence of committing witchcraft. They needed barely any evidence for you to be considered a witch. When accused you were treated badly by everyone. The people of Salem would not talk to you or look your way for fear of being bewitched. You were guilty whether or not you were innocent and if you were to confess you lost your dignity and status in society. Being accused ruined your life forever.
The court only needed an accusation to charge you with the crime of witchery. The proceedings in these trials were phony and injustice. They prided themselves on being fair and doing God’s work and they did just the opposite.
