Tituba And The Salem Witch Trials

The Salem witch trials all started with Tituba who was a slave of Samuel Parris. Several other girls joined Tituba in the kitchen in early 1692. People thought that Tituba and her group had a black magic dance in the woods. The girls would fall to the floor and start screaming and this behavior started to spread all over Salem. Soon after the Puritans believed that the girls would never put themselves under such a spell. They started asking the girls who did this to them and who tortured them, and the girls started to list out the names of witches including Tituba and that is how the Salem trials began. “The more who, under torture, confessed to witchcraft, the harder it was to maintain that the whole business was mere fantasy.” Since each …show more content…
Reverend John Hale one of the ministers during the witch trials. He was the only one who witnessed the pain and suffering of the girls which were signs of the devil. “His wife was accused of being a witch, which slowed down the trials because the whole community knew she was trustworthy.” Reverend John Hale’s wife was accused of witchcraft, but was not convicted because they knew who she was and knew that this is wrong and let her go, but with the other accused witches they did not know so they pointed at whoever they thought would best fit in the accusation and have the prisoned and set up for trial. Reverend John Hale’s and his wife both died in 1697. After the death of his wife, he wrote a book about witchcraft and how it was wrong, and he regretted being part of it. Samuel Sewall, one of the judges apologized what he did during the trials. “Some jurors in the trials also apologized for being ‘sadly deluded and mistaken.’” Samuel Sewall had a misleading belief and he realized after the trials and apologized for whom he did wrong during the trials. The Massachusetts Legislature announced the rights and good names of those which who were on official record. They also helped the families of those who were accused and died during the trials by giving money to the families. Most girls who accused others of witchcraft did not …show more content…
The Fifth Amendment grants us right to a grand jury, right of protection against double jeopardy, right against self-incrimination, and right to due process. The Sixth Amendment grants us right of criminal defendants, right to a public trial, right to a lawyer, right to an impartial jury, and the right to know who the accuser is and the charges and evidence against them “and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.” During the Salem witch trials there was no defense given to the accuser, but now they have the right to defend themselves. “nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property.” back then there was self-incriminating questions that they had to answer, but now there is an option given to self-incriminate or not. Those who were accused of witchcraft were walking into a trial where the decision was already made before a word was even said, but now the decision must be completely free of bias when made. “This is dealt with in the Bill of rights too where it says, In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.” The court decision cannot be made of what they believe in and what the majority believes in. They must take evidence, witnesses, claims, facts, and point of views from everyone when they make their