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Lawyers and “witches” and courtrooms, oh my!
Unless you grew up in Massachusetts or have a particular interest in colonial America, your knowledge of the Salem Witch Trials may be exclusively dependent on a chapter that you skimmed in your high school history class or snippets from a law school lesson that went in one ear and out the other. However, there’s a lot we can learn from these fascinating trials, particularly how our legal system has evolved since the 1690s.
Attorney J. Craig Williams, a veteran legal podcaster, recently released an episode of his new show In Dispute: 10 Famous Trials That Changed History, that dives into the emotional and chaotic Salem Village courtroom scene with gripping detail and legal insights. In a matter of minutes of listening to the pilot episode, you’ll quickly understand why these trials would never fly under today’s legal standards.
In Dispute: 10 Famous Trials That Changed History
Here are just a few of the many issues with how things went down in 1693.
Several witnesses who were brought to the stand to give testimonies told stories of dreams and visions instead of citing actual hard evidence.
In one specific instance, a witness claimed she saw an “apparition” or ghost-like figure of Sarah Good. As a result, Good was sent to prison.
This type of testimony is referred to as spectral evidence and would quickly be ruled out in today’s courts. Witnesses are called to testify from personal knowledge and sensory perception, not speculated paranormal activity.
Sarah Good, a poor unmarried woman, was expected to defend herself against the most powerful man in town, all by herself.
Chief Judge William Stoughton, who also served as Lieutenant Governor, forbade defense counsel for the accused.
The absence of skilled lawyers who could have challenged the inaccurate testimonies of angst-ridden teenagers and bitter members of the Salem Village community doomed the innocent from the start and would never be acceptable today.
In the words of J. Craig Williams, “Had rules of evidence, the right to a defense lawyer, and trained judges been in place, the Salem Witch Trials would have ended quite differently.”
As if depriving the defendants of lawyers wasn’t bad enough, they were also deprived of food leading up to their trials, relying on their families to provide rations.
According to court records, 54 individuals confessed to witchcraft in order to spare their lives.
Margaret Jacobs, for instance, was only 17 years-old at the time of her guilty admission. Instead of taking sole responsibility for the egregious accusation, she took her minister and grandfather down with her. Following the execution of these men, Jacobs later retracted her statements but still had to serve jail time.
Samuel Wardwell was another accusee who admitted to witchcraft in hopes that he’d avoid a death sentence. Because he had dabbled in fortune telling as a younger man, he knew he was at risk. Despite his best efforts, Samuel was eventually hanged.
As Michael Semanchik, the Executive Director of The Innocence Center and host of For the Innocent, says, “For an innocent person to believe it is better to be punished for something they didn’t do, rather than engage in the truth-seeking process of a trial tells us something serious broke down.”
More than 300 years after the Salem Witch Trials, citizens are still admitting fault to crimes they didn’t commit, in fear of steeper and potentially deadly outcomes if they don’t. In 2023 alone, 153 people were cleared of wrongful convictions via exoneration, and countless other have active cases appealing their convictions.
You can hear Marilyn Mulero’s story about being wrongfully convicted of a Chicago gang murder and being sentenced to the death penalty after being persuaded by her attorney to falsely confess in 1992 here on For the Innocent.
Scholarly research suggests that the desire to police and judge people’s actions, using religious teachings as a guide, likely contributed to the hysteria, deeply influenced by petty rifts between powerful families and rival congregations.
In his book How Would You Decide?, J. Craig Williams notes that “just prior to the outbreak of the witch trials in Salem, Rev. Cotton Mather, the minister in Boston’s North Church, helped fan the flames of witchcraft with his book, Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions, where he detailed his investigation of a widowed woman suspected of witchcraft.”
When hypervigilant Christians sensed a misguided threat that they were under attack by their fellow citizens, they turned to their holy texts and trusted their religious leaders for guidance.
In Exodus 22:18 of the King James Version Bible, first published in 1611, it is stated that “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” so any affiliation to witchcraft was perceived as sinful behavior. Misinterpretations of this verse spread like wildfire, as villagers who lacked proper context and struggled with reading comprehension spread the news, not realizing they were essentially participating in a dangerous game of “telephone.”
Throughout the trials, the untrained judge of the court turned to religious ministers for advice, instead of consulting with judges or lawyers.
The witch mayhem occurred before the Constitution was established, so the judge presiding over the cases did not have a supreme law of the land with a foundational legal framework to give the accused men and women a fair trial.
Rebecca S. Markert, the Vice President and Legal Director at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, traced the origins of religious liberty in our federal and state courts on Lawyer 2 Lawyer, saying:
“Thomas Jefferson penned a letter in 1802 to the Danbury Baptists where he explained that the First Amendment of the US Constitution created a wall of separation between church and state. That writing was then later used in a court case that was heard before the Supreme Court in the late 1800s, Reynolds v. United States.
The court in that case wrote that Jefferson’s writing was to be thought of as the most authoritative interpretation of what the First Amendment and, particularly, the establishment clause of the First Amendment means.
That’s where we get this foundational principle that religion and government should be separate. It is also one of the ways that our constitution guarantees equality and that every person is equal before the law. If we are all allowed to believe as we wish and freely, then we are all really equal as United States citizens.”
Hear re-enactments of examinations, testimonies, and closing remarks, as well as witty analysis of the Salem Witch Trials by listening to In Dispute.
This episode will illustrate how modern-day legal principles were misapplied and get a better picture of the social and political dynamics of the time. Plus, you’ll get a better understanding of justice, due process, and the consequences of fear-driven decision-making.
Legal Talk Network is a podcast network for legal professionals with hosts from well-known organizations and brands in legal. Over 20 active podcasts cover important legal news and developments, including access to justice, law school, industry events, legal technology, and the future of law.
