Salem Witch Trials and their Impact on Judicial History

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at the Salem witch trials, one of the most interesting judicial events in history, and focuses not on the controversy of the accuser?s accusations, but rather on the controversy in the judicial system, human frailties, and inhumane imprisonment of the accused. It explores how the results of the controversial trials helped American judicial systems move toward rightful justice.

From the Paper:

"However, the Salem Witchcraft Trials use of human frailty in court helped courts move forward in eliminating its use. Courts now need factual or circumstantial evidence to convict a person of any crime and the accused is promised a fair trial. Nowadays, the accused is given an unbiased judge and jury making it a fair trial (Linder). A fair trial was something colonialists thought they were giving. Human frailty to a colonialist from the 1640s would have been overwhelming and unbelievable. Colonialists believed that the common procedure of witchcraft was justifiable and never abused. The evidence from the Salem trials found nowadays shows that not only were the procedures often abused and accusations baseless, but that the way in which they treated the accused was inhumane."

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