Theme Of Punishment In The Elizabethan Era

643 Words3 Pages

People would not be able to get away with such a cruel action towards other humans, that they might of been allowed to in the Elizabethan era times. Why in the world were punishments for crimes so cruel during the Elizabethan era? In this time period, punishments were a lot more harsh than they are now. People kill others in this time and just get sentenced to life in prison, they are still fed and have shelter. Torture then at that time was used to punish a person for his or her crimes, intimidate them and the group to which he or she belongs, gather information, and/or obtain a confession. During the Elizabethan era, treason was considered as the worst crime a person could ever commit. There were many torcherous forms of punishment in the Elizabethan era that ranged from burning, or stretching, hanging, to suffocating a person accused of a crime.
One popular form of punishment during the 16th …show more content…

People were suffocated for such crimes as: witchcraft, scolds and prostitutes. A person would be strapped or fastened onto a wooden beam and then immersed into water. Suffocation was not as bad as the other punishments, but still was considered as torture.
During the Elizabethan Era, these horrendous punishments were part of a normal life. All punishments were taken very seriously and were tended to very quickly kill someone. Punishments were based upon the crime that was committed. Often times people were falsely accused, but were still forced to punishment. This is what led to a lot of deaths of this time and is considered cruelty now.
Hanging is still used in today's society. Although it is not used in America it is used as a punishment across the sea. Depending on what the person did these punishments were appointed. If this was chosen they would hang them till they were half dead and then cut all their insides out and throw what they had in front of the person which the person then would bleed out and