ROUGH INJUSTICE

People who were accused of witchcraft were tried in different ways based on where they lived and when. A witchcraft suspect in Innsbruck, Austria, in the 1480s would have been tried very differently to a suspect in Salem, Massachusetts, in the 1690s. To understand in detail the choices that were made about how to arrest and try a witch, let’s focus on one legal system and one period of history: the legal unit of England and Wales, between 1550 and 1750. For most of this time period and across most communities, how did people go about trying a witch?

The first thing that a suspect would hear – let’s call her Mary and say the year is 1590 - is a knock on the door. Outside would be a