the evidence of these afflicted persons, who are said to have spectral eye; but whether it is not purely by virtue of these spectre evidences, that these persons are found guilty, (considering what before has been said,) I leave you, and any man of sense, to judge and determine. the Invisible World which said spectral evidence should be allowed indicates that they had possibly been convicted using spectral [36] One proof Brattle gave against spectral evidence was the following:[37]. While admitting the possibility that "among the Persons represented by the Spectres which now afflict our Neighbours, there will be found some that never explicitly contracted with any of the Evil Angels", he suggested that these people may have been guilty of lesser offences, for which reason God had permitted the Devil "to bring in these Lesser ones with the rest for their perpetual Humiliation". During the pre-trial hearings, various other types of evidence had been brought against the accused including evidence of "ordinary witchcrafts" (i.e. had prohibited spectral evidence, had been revoked and replaced with Still, most practicing litigators probably know very little about the Salem witch trials. Americans often indulge in a kind of Salem exceptionalism, treating the events of 1692 as if they were an isolated and idiosyncratic departure from the long arc of human affairs. She is a former faculty member of the Humanist Institute. <>17]/P 21 0 R/Pg 33 0 R/S/Link>> JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41155285.Withington, Nathan N. Robert Pike, A Forgotten Champion of Freedom. New England Magazine, Warren F. Kellogg, Sept. 1897-Feb. 1898.Two Letters of Gov. That Satan possessed a person was not evidence that the person had consented. uuid:a2407b1f-b1b0-11b2-0a00-b07f2888fe7f [38] On 29 October, the court was officially dismissed. [7] The evidence which tied these afflictions to Denny and Cullender was the testimony of the children that they had often been threatened by apparitions of these women. Rebecca is a freelance journalist and history lover who got her start in journalism working for small-town newspapers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire after she graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a B.A. Libraries blog: The Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 happened at the worst possible time. Consider, for example, Hathornes cross-examination of Martha Corey. 7. But it gets worse, and in two ways. Now, that seems to be ending. Cotton Mather's book was likely seen by the author as a counterbalance to his father's book, not in actual opposition. As Justice Holmes wisely observed in one of his most famous dissents, time has upset many fighting faiths. Abrams v. United States, 250 U.S. 616, 630 (1919) (Holmes, J., dissenting). Mr. Lincolns Music: The Tuning of the Final Paragraph of the Second Inaugural Address, Weathering the Storms and Anticipating Post-Pandemic Changes, American Bar Association The court could conduct multiple trials over the course of each convening because the proceedings moved at a dazzlingly fast pace, often lasting little more than an hour. 201 advisory committees note. legal consequences of it but the religious ones: This then I declare and testify, that to take away the life of any one, merely because a spectre or devil, in a bewitched or possessed person does accuse them, will bring the guilt of the innocent blood on the land, where such a thing shall be done: Mercy forbid that it should, (and I trust that as it has not it never will be so) in New-England (Mather 255). A new charter (1691) arrived from England in May 1692, along with the new governor, but as yet, the General Court had not had time to create any laws. [Printed in the Year 1682.] As a religious man, Mathers Second, because of the prevailing demonology of the day, the absence of these facts did not necessarily tend to exonerate the accused. [14] When pressed to name their assailants, they accused Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and the slave Tituba,[15] crying out "that they or specters in their shapes did grievously torment them".[16]. In an era that did not have available any easy and trustworthy form of creating verbatim transcripts of oral testimony, a written document seemed more dependable and avoided arguments over what the witnesses had said. By this time, however, with nineteen people hanged (and one, Giles Corey, crushed to death),[34] criticism of the trials was becoming increasingly vocal. Supplementary evidence was also allowed and included the presence of witches marks on the accused persons body. Expert testimony based on that misunderstanding resulted in the incarceration of incalculable numbers of innocent defendants. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. In He also explained that the Devil, wherever possible, binds into his service "those that make a Visible Profession" of holiness, in order to "more readily pervert others to Consenting unto his subjection". And it was here the rather mentioned, because it was a Tryal, much considered by the judges of New England [Mather 111]. Newton helped develop spectral analysis A drawing of Sir Isaac Newton dispersing light . But the hearsay doctrine evolved slowly and did not take on something like its modern form until the early 1700s. Terminer due to his dissatisfaction with some types of evidence used upon this occasion was enraged and filled with passionate anger and refused to sit upon the bench in a Superior Court then held at Charles Towne, and indeed hath from the beginning hurried on these matters with great precipitancy and by his warrant hath caused the estates, goods and chattles of the executed to be seized and disposed of without my knowledge or consent.. Spectral evidence was testimony that the accused witch's spirit (i.e. spectre) appeared to the witness in a dream or vision (for example, a black cat or wolf). Jone Johnson Lewis is a women's history writer who has been involved with the women's movement since the late 1960s. "Spectral Evidence and the Salem Witch Trials." witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries, "SWP No. After the plea, jury selection ensued. according to a letter Phips wrote to the Earl of Nottingham in There are several scriptures from which we may [13], The Salem witch trials began in February 1692, when four children of Salem, Massachusetts, began suffering from fits, and complained of being "bitten and pinched by invisible agents". Spectral evidence was a form of evidence accepted in the courts during the Salem Witch Trials, one of the darkest, most misogynistic periods of American history. At the same time, his son Cotton Mather wrote a book supporting the proceedings,Wonders of the Invisible World. Not PDF The Devil's Specter: Spectral Evidence and the Salem Witchcraft Crisis Lewis, Jone Johnson. Most of the convictions and executions were grounded in the testimony of spectral evidence. his book Wonders of the Invisible World: Now, one of the latest printed accounts about a Tryal of Witches, is of what was before him, and it ran on this wise. Spectral evidence is a form of evidence based on dreams and visions (Miller, Laura M). November or December of 1692, Reverend Increase Mather published his An accusation thus led ineluctably to a conviction and an execution. We have a hearsay rule because of concerns about the reliability of out-of-court statements, and for the reasons discussed above, the depositions offered in Salem scored an unreliability hat trick. How Isaac Newton Changed Our World Spectral evidence was admitted in the Salem Witch trials, but condemned by many before and after as legally invalid. To the contrary, he declared, it is inconceivable that the Colony should have passed through its first century without some special outbreak of prosecutioninconceivable, that is to say, to one who knows what went on in England and the rest of Europe during that time. George Lyman Kittredge, Witchcraft in Old and New England 367 (1956). "Spectral evidence refers to a witness testimony that the accused person's spirit or spectral shape appeared to him/her witness in a dream at the time the accused person's physical body was at another location. [29] Formal advice was requested from the ministry, and twelve ministers of the Boston area (including Increase Mather) drew up a document entitled "The Return of the Several Ministers Consulted". Almost all of those brought before the court were acquitted; and in May, Phips issued a general pardon, bringing the trials to an end. In this sense, we conduct trials within the context of what everybody knows. This holds true today when, for example, everyone on a jury has certain basic knowledge about things like cars, household appliances, and medical care. Perhaps sensing her insoluble dilemma, the witness responded by laughing. Contrary to Mather's advice, spectral evidence had played a large part in securing Bishop's conviction, and this raised questions about the methods of the court. three were convicted under similar circumstances as the others, which Several men testified that she had visited them, in spectral form, in bed at night. The Complicated Future of Student Loans - The New York Times I am innocent to a witch. The The early English witchcraft acts had primarily concerned themselves with maleficiumthe harm that the alleged witch had supposedly done to the victims person or property. A federal judge in Louisiana on Tuesday restricted the Biden administration from communicating with social media platforms about broad swaths of content online, a ruling that could curtail efforts . They offer countless insights into the significance of a stable and impartial judiciary, the indispensable place of legal counsel, the critical role of procedure, andmost importantly for purposes of this articlehow the concept of proof can go terribly wrong. Either the organ of the eye is abused, and the eye and the sense deluded, so as to think they do see or hear some thing or person when indeed they do not, and this is frequent with common jugglers. (Interestingly, 1604 marked the passage of the most draconian of the several English witchcraft statutes; it was a bad time for justice and due process.) Similar reversals have occurred with respect to other principles once taken as highly reliable (such as certain forms of bullet analysis), and debates rage on as to still more (such as evidence of shaken baby syndrome). The Court of Oyer and Terminer adjourned on 22 September, with the expectation of reconvening before long. 42 0 obj is transformed into an Angel of light. Even today, we sometimes view statements written outside of court as trustworthy because they were prepared during or shortly after the events in question, before memories had a chance to fade and distortions had a chance to set in. infer the possibility of what is affirmed. The devil might leave one at the time the witch agreed to serve him, or the witch might grow a small nipple to feed her familiars (the cats and other creatures who did their bidding), or both. Appligent AppendPDF Pro 6.3 trials, how spectral evidence was used during this episode and how heavily it was relied upon. All that can be rationally or truly said in such as case is this: that I did see the shape or likeness of such a person, if my senses or eyesight were not deluded; and they can honestly say no more, because they know no more, except the devil tells them more; and if he do, they can but say he told them so. tral evidence, so the killings continued until Cotton's father read his em-phatic essay to the ministers on October 3. February: The Court still proceeding in the same method of trying them, which was by the evidence of the afflicted persons who when they were brought into the Court as soon as the suspected witches looked upon them instantly fell to the ground in strange agonies and grevious torments, but when touched by them upon the arm or some other part of their flesh were immediately revived and came to themselves, upon [which] they made oath that the Prisioner at the Bar did afflict them and that they saw their shape or spectre come from their bodies which put them into such pains and torments: When I enquired into the matter I was informed by the Judges that they begun with this, but had humane testimony against such as were condemned and undoubted proof of their being witches, but at length I found that the Devil did take upon him the shape of Innocent persons and some were accused of whose innocency I was well assured and many considerable persons of unblamable life and conversation were cried out upon as witches and wizards. As Trask observes, however, a close review of the Salem documents reveals that many of them were not composed at a single point in time. them (k) Thyreus; mentions several apparitions of absent living Observations on Our Present Debates Regarding Witchcraft in a On the other hand, the document closed by recommending "the speedy and vigorous prosecution" of those who had "rendered themselves obnoxious" to the laws of God and man. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-spectral-evidence-3528204 (accessed July 13, 2023). witness in a dream or vision and afflicted them. In many cases, they came in an unreliable form, prepared in an unreliable manner, written by an unreliable scribe. Indeed, Federal Rule of Evidence 803(5) includes an exception that applies to a witnesss earlier written observationscalled past recollection recordedfor precisely this reason. Such testimony was frequently given during the witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries. George Burroughs. the casting of spells resulting in injury or property damage),[23] the discovery of poppets and witches' marks, and signs of unusual physical strength but only the spectral evidence had been gathered for every case. Before we commence rolling our eyes about the resulting injustices in Salem, we should consider how what everybody knows continues to shape our law and our trials. On 3. The accused witch was told to touch a victim having a fit, and if the victim stopped having a fit, the accused was believed to have afflicted the victim (Boyer . IncreaseMather added an approving introduction to his sons book. The charter of the colony had been temporarily suspended (1684-1691) due to political and religious friction between the colony and England. When, in May of 1692, William Phips, the newly appointed governor of the Massachusetts Bay Province, returned from England, he found the fragmented political and judicial systems overwhelmed by accusations of witchcraft and the colonys jails overflowing with suspects. "Spectral evidence refers to a witness testimony that the accused person's spirit or spectral shape appeared to him or her witness in a dream at the time the accused person's physical body was at another location. In a letter to magistrate John Richards, Mather advised the court not to place too much stress upon spectral evidence, because "it is very certain that the devils have sometimes represented the shapes of persons not only innocent, but also very virtuous". (2020, August 26). The dream or vision was admitted as evidence. The judges appointed to preside over the trials were a mixed lot at best. In reviewing some of these depositions, a reader might even struggle to discern precisely how many layers of hearsay they involved. New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declarations [NSPPD] || 6th July 2023 Phips had risen from poverty to become, in turns, a shepherd, a ships carpenter, a sea captain, and finally a successful fortune hunter who achieved immense wealth. Definition of spectral evidence | New Word Suggestion | Collins Dictionary Id. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. [40] Mather also cited the precedent of previous trials, including the Bury St Edmunds case. Thecommission that created this courtsaid that the judges were to act according to the law and custom of England and of this their Majesties Province. But this ignored the difference between the laws of England and the old laws of New England. It was accepted in the courts during the Salem Witch Trials. A tool used by the Puritan leaders to determine if someone was a witch or not. Lewis, Jone Johnson. Gov. Which is an example of a recent development used to address food shortages in urban areas. It was Nov. 3, 2017, and the target was Jos Manuel Villarejo Prez, a former government spy. express his concerns with the admission of spectral evidence in the Figure 24.16 Binary Black Hole. The Deputy Govr. our purpose is that, in Re: 12 10 where the devil is called the These indicia included things like pour patterns in the burn marks on a floor or signs of extremely high temperatures in certain spots. Calef made out a withering indictment of the practice, and Mather responded by burning Calefs book in Harvard Yard. S. `No, some they never saw, it may be never heard of before. 1 evidence, among other things: The S.G. will by no means allow, that any are brought in guilty, and condemned, by virtue of spectre evidence (as it is called,) i.e. 14 0 obj To the contrary, trials take place against a backdrop of factual understandings that are generally shared among the members of the community. likeness of of living absent persons is a thing abundantly confirmed At present, spectral imaging has several applications on the market, but it is still in the emerging phase and has not been widely adopted. When some witnesses accused the wife of the newly-arrived Governor William Phips, Mary Phips, of witchcraft, citing spectral evidence, the governor stepped in and stopped the further expansion of the witch trials. Do we still use spectral evidence today? Thats a shame because the Salem proceedings have a lot to teach us. At one point, Hathorne asked her: Were you to serve the Devil ten years? 14. It was even suggested that a more critical approach to spectral testimonies might give "some remarkable affronts" to the devils responsible for them, and "put a period" to the troubles at Salem. Spectral imaging: from CERN to medical technologies | CERN In I know not what a witch is. To which Hathorne calmly replied: How do you know then that you are not a witch? Id. Tests for Witches: Witchcraft Mark, Witch Birthmarks to Identify a Witch There are several ways the court would use to determine if the person is a witch on included, "Spectral Evidence". According to Len Niehoff, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School who has taught seminars on the Salem witch trials, the U.S. legal system "includes two vital protections that were. Very good, and thats the Devil, turned informer: how are good men like to fare, against whom he hath a particular malice. (Willard 280). The witch hunt in Germany sometimes saw more than 100 accused witches executed in a single day. endobj The proceedings usually began with a plea from the accused, with the expectation that a defendant who claimed innocence would also openly acknowledge the courts authority to adjudicate the mattera sort of admission of jurisdiction. Chapter 4 Review History 1301 Flashcards | Quizlet Such testimony was frequently given during the witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries. July 12, 2023. 15 0 obj notwithstanding persisted vigerously in the same method, to the great disatisfaction and disturbance of the people, until I put an end to the court and stopped the proceedings, which I did because I saw many innocent persons might otherwise perish and at that time I thought it my duty to give an account thereof that their Maties pleasure might be signifyed, hoping that for the better ordering thereof the Judges learned in the law in England might give such rules and directions as have been practized in England for proceedings in so difficult and so nice a point;. One of the judges, Nathaniel Saltonstall, became so disillusioned after the first trial that he left. endobj What was considered spectral evidence? writhing, shaking, and crying out in pain when the people came in contact with invisible spirits sent by the accused. a reason to allow spectral evidence, according to Cotton Mather, in Everybody knew something to a moral certainty, and everybody was wrong. Tell how many? American Studies scholar Katherine Howeherself the descendent of three Salem witchesnotes the trap that the question sets: If the witness says yes, then she has conceded a decade-long pact with Satan; if she says no, then the prosecutor will ask how many years she did agree to serve. Downloada printablePDF of this article. Today, we would swiftly reject such evidence as a flagrant violation of the hearsay rule, but in 1692, that doctrine had not yet fully evolved. The Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 happened at the worst possible time. And Salem pales in comparison with the mass prosecutions and executions that occurred in France and Scotland. Some Miscellany OBSERVATIONS On Our Present Debates Respecting Witchcrafts. Jahrbuch Fr Amerikastudien, vol. Hosted by Natalie Kitroeff. Witches, which was published in 1682. Will Threads Kill Twitter? - The New York Times But historians generally agree that this skepticism related to the efficacy of the trials in identifying witches with the certainty appropriate to a capital case. But by 2004, it had become widely understood that for many, many years, arson investigators had simply misunderstood how fire behaves. Procedures, Courts & Aftermath of the Salem Witch Trials The use of spectral evidence led to a controversy, with Cotton Mather defending it and critic Robert Calef harshly condemning it. Increase Mather, co-minister in Boston with his son Cotton Mather, had been in England, attempting to persuade the king to appoint a new governor. 2 0 obj Judge Samuel Sewell persisted in the work, but years later wrote an impassioned confession of his error. In May 1692, a Court of Oyer and Terminer was established to try these cases. In the absence of guidance by specific colony laws, and acting in consonance with the general paranoia of the community, the judges famously accepted spectral evidence, and other untrustworthy kinds of evidence, as proof of guilt.. They could, for example, say that a visage of the accused .