The fundamental question …show more content…
There were four common methods of torturing accused witches to confess to their crimes: burning, drowning, pressing, or hangings. Execution by burning at the state was when the accused was bound to a large stake surrounded by burning wood, and is also considered the least used. Another method was “swimming,” whereby the accused hands are tied and immersed into deep water. If the accused witch floated, the water would reject them and was deemed guilty to being a witch, if they sank they were innocent. Leading to accused victims to die because they were not going to be able to survive either way. The courts would kill the alleged witch if they floated so they can show the citizens that they were in fact a “witch.” The two most common methods that were mostly used were pressings and hangings. Items like stones were pressed onto the chest of the accused until they confessed they were witches or died. Some people didn’t have the option of confessing, so they were sentenced to death by