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Death Penalty Opposition in 1692

By Arlon Staywell RICHMOND — How prevalent was opposition to the death penalty in 1692 in colonial America? Did this have any effect on the attitudes about witchcraft or on the cause or course of the Salem witch trials? For example, was there an elaborate plot to embarrass the judges in Salem in some way? If there were no outspoken opponents of the death penalty, were there then maybe those reticent to express their opposition directly, for whatever reason, and yet who felt strongly enough to participate indirectly in a scheme that would have an effect on others' attitudes in some way at some time?
For an accurate answer to these questions, due consideration of the unusual time and place is necessary. Although it had been 242 years since a printing press with movable type of a western alphabet first resulted in a printed Bible, and 200 years since the European discovery of America, the sociological impact of these events was still present.
It is often said that in developing nuclear energy, technological abilities outpaced other maybe more important ones; cultural, spiritual. Some might in a similar manner say that in the easy technological duplication of Bibles, spiritual growth was strained to keep pace. Two powerful religious movements could be said to have received much of their impetus from the new ready availability of Bibles and led by Martin Luther and John Calvin. A cry arose to shift authority long vested in institutions to that printed book. When asked by Cardinal Cajetan to recant, Martin Luther would not unless it could be proved from the Bible that he was wrong. A boy at the time of the protestant reformation that followed, John Calvin also forsook the Roman Catholic Church. His "Institutes of the Christian Religion" in 1536 also became a banner for Protestants all over Europe. The Church of England retained too much of Catholicism for the new Bible believers as well. The new world was a place they could practise their beliefs.
Establishing peace, security, law and order in the wilderness of America in those days was no small task. Without modern security enhancing devices such as electric lighting and telephones, the small bands of Puritan settlers attempted to tame their wide, wild surroundings. Self defense in such primitive conditions might well have required extreme measures, and no written law against capital punishment appears at that time. In William Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation" Chapter XII it is learned that having received the challenge of a bundle of arrows tied with a snakeskin from the Narragansett Native Americans, the Governor sent the snakeskin back with bullets in it.
Not all the settlers were of like mind, as Chapter XIX of "Of Plymouth Plantation" attests. In it is Thomas Morton who might well have given the Puritans more trouble than a whole band of Indians by his "licentiousness" and "dissolute life" and sale of guns, powder and shot to the Indians, notwithstanding that his own version of the story differs markedly.
Having thus the backdrop of colonial America against which the Salem witch trials took place, consider the trials themselves, what they actually were, and why.
Note that it was not the first of executions ostensibly for witchcraft in New England. In 1648 "Margaret Jones of Charlestown" was indicted and found guilty of "witchcraft" and hanged for it. In "The Journal of John Winthrop" it is learned though that the woman also practised "physic." It is conceivable that in the administration of the "medicines" she in some instances maliciously poisoned and that might be the actual cause of her being executed.
Referring to that very event later in "The Wonders of the Invisible World" Cotton Mather writes, " ... a malefactor, accused of witchcraft as well as murder, and executed in this place more than forty years ago ..." Remarkable about the Salem witch trials 44 years later is that the defendents there were not even accused of using poisons as Jones was.
At Salem, accusations were of a type that could, to outside observers, be nothing more than collusion on the part of false witnesses. In describing the event at which he carefully points out he was not present, Cotton Mather, also in his "Wonders of the Invisible World," says that Bridget Bishop "did but cast her eyes upon [witnesses against her], they were presently struck down, and this in such a manner as there could be no collusion in the business." It is not immediately mentioned on whose report this was determined.
Was there a collusion though? Of the three judges at Salem only Samuel Sewall apologizes for what took place there. The January 15, 1697 entry in "The Diary of Samuel Sewall" notes that he "is sensible of the reiterated strokes of God" upon him and asks pardon and prayers. Clearly at some point between the trial and that diary entry, an important lesson was learned. What was that lesson though? Was it an elaborate plot to embarrass Sewall and the other judges? Was the goal to persuade against capital punishment? Was there nothing more than an accidental hysteria spiraling out of control?
The debate might never be settled, but it should be noted that if it were a contrivance against the death penalty, it was a horribly misguided one. If the point was to show that society at large cannot be trusted to deal honestly and accurately with crime and those accusing of crimes, then those disposed to defend themselves by deadly violence are not only not deterred, but would more likely be encouraged. Only by assuring that society working together can make the use of deadly force in self defense unnecessary can a logical approach to the matter be expected.
Samuel Sewall learned a very important lesson by 1697. Countless others have undoubtedly learned the same lesson over the years. To be effective the lesson must be learned by large numbers of people. Unfortunately, video games do not teach this lesson.
One thing Arthur Miller's play The Crucible might be said to have accomplished is that it created the strong impression that those accused of witchcraft at Salem were probably guilty, if not of witchcraft, of sexual abuse of minors anyway. This of course evokes a powerful loathing for the accused that for many justifies the taking of those lives.
The powerful loathing, the emotion, is justified, that there might be more effective solutions should be considered though. For example a rape also evokes a powerful loathing, so powerful that fewer people complain should the life of a rapist be taken than about the taking of the life of people guilty of many other crimes. But is the taking of that life the solution? Does it undo the fact of the rape? No, it does not reverse time, preventing the rape in the first place is a far better solution. The question becomes how to best prevent. The punishment by execution might be a powerful deterrent, but any strong punishment might work as well. What is probably more effective than the severity of punishment is the certainty of it. Of course harsh crimes will require commensurate penalties, but it is more important that the punishment be certain, inescapable. It has been noted that by paying attention to people's traffic, crime is deterred. That the deed is known or certainly will be known is a powerful deterrent to crime.
A very effective deterrent presents itself, watching where people go. This watching where people go is important for so many reasons that the deterrence of crimes need not be mentioned.
Then too, the effectiveness of the death penalty is problematic. Sometimes the death penalty can cause more crime than it deters. This renders it useless of course. The situation in Czarist Russia is not perfectly analogous, but serves somewhat yet to illustrate a point. The killing of people merely seeking a redress of their grievances only enflamed support for them and weakened support for the autocracy. Whether the crowds were only seeking a redress of grievances or were perhaps a real threat to other human lives would certainly be a major factor in the various levels of support obtained, but that is not the question here. Here the purpose is only to illustrate how the penalty of death can in some cases do much more harm to law and order than it does good.
Using the death penalty to curb homosexuality will not work in the United States today. In ancient Bible times the Jews were the neighbors to societies that sacrificed humans, often infants, to stone idols. The methods Jews used to obtain their safety in such conditions might well have been extreme. It is important to note that those were whole societies doing those things, not a handful of aberrant individuals. It would be a serious mistake to apply these extreme measures in a world as civilized as modern America. Such a thing as killing people for being homosexuals would only certainly increase the number of them.
While Miller's play does create the powerful loathing mentioned, it does not make the strong case for taking the lives of those accused it might have in that light. Much is left to the audience. The measure of understanding and pity the play perhaps develops for the court is important. Of course it is also important not to take it too far.

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There is a high probability that satanists believe in a sort of death penalty whether society does or not.
Arlon Ryan Staywell