During the 1600s, Puritan religious beliefs heavily influenced the American legal system, which led to the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Many years later, the American author shares the story of the chaos that ensued following the first witch accusation in his play titled The Crucible. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the witch trials prove religion taints judgment on justice, and leads to inconsistent legal actions and decisions. The success of the baseless allegations, the unjust consequences, and the conflicting legal choices prove the legal inconsistencies in the play. Firstly, the nonexistent presumption of innocence establishes the prejudiced opinions caused by religious standpoints. Near the end of Act I, Abigail Williams accuses the Bajan slave, Tituba, of being a witch. All involved are instantly against Tituba, believing in her culpability. For example, “quote” (Miller 44). Instead of trying to figure …show more content…
For instance, on page 88, Danforth reveals that “quote” (Miller 88). The court disagrees with the fact that the cases are built upon with a small amount of fact and proof and finds little credence among the religious statements, demonstrating that they are in the wrong when using religion as proof. Nevertheless, they are still allowing religion to take over the legal system, since nothing is being done to halt the trials from moving forward. Additionally, the state requires real legal proof on some occasions throughout the work. For instance, “Mr. Proctor, I must have good legal proof that you—” (Miller 143). Governor Danforth could not take John Proctor’s confession into account, since he would not sign a written confession. Illustratively, they bounce between needing legal proof and going off of someone’s word. Ultimately, the witch trials prove religion taints judgment on justice and leads to inconsistent legal actions and decisions since it switches between using proper law and