FUN FACT #3 ~ The common image of a witch’s execution shows a - TopicsExpress



          

FUN FACT #3 ~ The common image of a witch’s execution shows a large group of hysteric people surrounding the guilty person on a burning pyre—but immolation was not the primary means of execution used for those accused of witchcraft. During the Salem Witch Trials, no one was burned to death; all of the accused that pled their cases and were found guilty during the Trials in 1692 were hanged. In fact, no one found guilty of witchcraft was ever executed by burning in the American colonies—immolation wasnt permissible by English law. But one person was pressed to death by large stones: Giles Corey, a man who refused to plead guilty or not guilty for charges of witchcraft during the Trials. The court found Corey guilty despite staying mute by using the French legal precedent of “peine forte et dure.” Corey is the only person in US history to be pressed to death by court order. (via mentalfloss)
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 15:04:16 +0000

Trending Topics



Recently Viewed Topics




© 2015