ipl-logo

What Are The Similarities Between West Memphis Three And The Salem Witch Trials

1441 Words6 Pages

“I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the lord, and I dare not take a life without there be proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it,” said Arthur Miller in The Crucible. The Crucible was written about the Salem Witch Trials, and the wrongful verdicts the accused were sentenced to. For a case to be proven guilty there should be no reasonable doubt the suspects have committed the crime they are being accused of, but in many cases this is not what happens. People have been found and are being found guilty for crimes they did not commit because court system is failing them. While the West Memphis Three and the Salem Witch Trials are both cases known for the justice system failing, the West Memphis …show more content…

The West Memphis Three were the first people in West Memphis, Arkansas who were accused of murdering the three young boys. The West Memphis Three were the distinctive people in the town of West Memphis; however, there was little evidence suggesting they killed the three young boys. Damien Echols wore black, listened to music many people considered to be satanic music, and people thought he might be involved with witchcraft. Jason Baldwin was accused of murdering the three boys because he was best friends with Damien Echols; therefore, Jason Baldwin was brought in for questioning about killing three boys because of who he was friends with. Jessie Misskelley was brought in for questioning, and he went through examination until he confessed to the crime. Therefore, During the Salem Witch trials the same event happened to the people who were accused of being witches. The first accused in Salem were the odd people in Salem who already had questionable behavior. The evidence against all of the accused in both situations was limited to accusations against the accused, but they were stilled found …show more content…

The main evidence against the accused in both cases was the people who made accusations against the accused. The evidence against the West Memphis Three was the accusations of people in West Memphis, a knife found close to Jason Baldwin’s house, and some fabric pieces found at the scene. There was no solid evidence placing any of the boys at the crime scene. Also, the evidence against the accused in the Salem Witch Trials were the accusations saying they were witches. Both cases called in experts in the field of witchcraft, but the experts did not have a degree or any other type of learning in witchcraft. The definition of an expert is someone who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge in a particular area. What the experts said against the accused in these cases should not have been used as evidence because they were not truly experts in their field. Both cases left reasonable doubt that the accused did not commit the crimes they were accused of, and the courts in both cases still found the accused guilty of the crimes they were accused

Show More
Related
266 Words | 2 Pages

During the “West Memphis Three” trials however, no eye witnesses came forth to the judges and said that they saw the boys do it. In determining if the defendants should be counted guilty, eye witnesses play a huge part in it. During the “West Memphis Three” trials, Jason Baldwin

Read More
583 Words | 3 Pages

The results of the trial in Stamford was that Mercy Disborough was temporarily convicted of witchcraft while Goody Clawson was acquitted. The consequences for Mercy Disborough were that despite months and jail and continued peer accusation, she was acquitted. The consequences for the townspeople are blurrier, but it is evident that persistent hysteria was not one of them. The results of the trial in Stamford were largely reigned in from the massive hysteria and mass convictions associated with contemporary witch trials by the law.

Read More
632 Words | 3 Pages

Through the investigation there was no biological evidence that could prove Maher guilty. At the end of the trial Maher was convicted of both of the crimes and later convicted of the third rape tried a month later. The third rape which occurred in Ayer Massachusetts had evidence that was introduced, but never tested. Both prosecutions were based on victim's statements rather that evidence.

Read More
578 Words | 3 Pages

The Early Colonial Tension The early colonial tension with Salem’s Witchcraft Trials and the Stono Rebellion. The Salem’s Witchcraft Trials took place in 1692. The Stono Rebellion is typically known for the slaves but also of the social and economic problems. The Stono Rebellion started off in 1739.

Read More
151 Words | 1 Pages

Three deranged girls, from 1692 Salem; Massachusetts, precipitated the mass hangings of twenty innocent people accused of witchery for the reason that of their adept prowess at acting, their marital status and jealousy of the newfound eastern wealth. As a result of their skills in deception, the accusers were able to dupe the jury to convict people of witchcraft. For example, Document C describes the three girls’ reactions once their target entered the vicinity. “As soon as she [Bishop] came near, all(afflicted girls) fell into fits.”

Read More
354 Words | 2 Pages

The accused witches in the Salem Witch Trials were blamed for many things. Like random deaths, out of the ordinary events, crops dying and many other things. The People accusing the "witches" would do many different test to see if they were witches. They would hold the accused witches underwater and if they drown then they weren't witches, if they were still alive they were witches and then got hung. So either way the people still died, guilty or not.

Read More
1431 Words | 6 Pages

“I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (Miller, The Crucible 143). The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a story that illustrates the Salem witch trials that occurred in 1692. These witch trials consisted of people who were falsely accused of witchcraft and twenty of them were executed. Not too long ago in 1954, the McCarthy trials began and took effect on the people.

Read More
628 Words | 3 Pages

The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller to compare his own life experiences to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. In the Crucible, young girls in Salem Village start to act in strange ways. They blame their behavior on witchcraft and begin to accuse certain people they do not like or get along with of practicing witchcraft on them. The community in Salem is very religious and fear the Devil and his powers. so even without evidence against the convicted people, the community believed the girls and executed all that were accused of witchcraft.

Read More
344 Words | 2 Pages

Whenever someone accused of a crime goes to court they need evidence to prove if they're innocent or guilty. This occurs in The Crucible and with Good Night and Good Luck. Whenever someone is accused, there were different ways determining if they were guilty. In The Crucible, spectral evidence was used to convict witches. The only source of evidence they had was the claims of the girls.

Read More
533 Words | 3 Pages

The people who preside over the trials are corrupt. People who were accused of witchcraft are wrongfully indicted, and those transgressions must be justified. Danforth is the governor of Massachusetts who thinks of himself as a fair man. Thomas Putnam who has grudges against the people of Salem, and Abigail is a shameless liar who leads the accusations against the people of Salem. What the people of Salem have seen as demonic possessions of the girls is nothing more than an act of deception.

Read More
657 Words | 3 Pages

Have you ever seen a government accuse a person of a crime he or she did not commit? Well, one of the best examples of this is in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. In this town in 1692, the courts not only wrongfully accused one person with sufficient evidence, but wrongfully accused 150 people of witchcraft. Furthermore, these people were accused without any scientific evidence. Even more terrible, though, is that 19 of these people were executed for this reason.

Read More
784 Words | 4 Pages

Since the beginning of time people have gone through trials in court to either be proven innocent or guilty. In the Crucible by Arthur Miller a massive number of people were being convicted in Salem, Massachusetts because of the witch trials. The law of the land states that everyone is above suspicion until they are demonstrated to be guilty by legitimate evidence; in the play the Crucible if a person was accused of an unlawful act they were summons for being a witch and working for the devil without proper confirmation. Citizens in Salem were imposed to establish their innocent or be put to death, which caused conflicting issues in the village.

Read More
250 Words | 1 Pages

The Salem witch trials were done unfairly. John Proctor was accuse of doing the will of the devil but he had never jury to see if was true or not all, so no jury saw his confession. On the day of the execution only there to see the confession was his peers and judges so confessions invalided. John Proctor confessed “It is evil. Good -, then-it is evil, and I do it.”(63)

Read More
683 Words | 3 Pages

Some neighbors would accuse each other, and a lot of people believe that they accused each other because they had disagreements about who owned what land. If this is true, then maybe it did not recur due to too many people were starting to not believe it. While many people may believe this speculation, there are numerous others who may find other theories more plausible. In conclusion, there are numerous theories for why the Salem Witch trials started.

Read More
168 Words | 1 Pages

Throughout history, governments have abused their power over their people and created societies that suppressed people’s beliefs. They used their power to put an end to people’s beliefs that went against their own and persecuted them unfairly. This idea is evident in the book, The Crucible by Arthur Miller. In Salem, teenage girls were accusing a multitude of people for being witches and the penalty for this was death. The government and church felt threatened everywhere they went, and ended up finding innocent people guilty for that reason.

Read More

More about What Are The Similarities Between West Memphis Three And The Salem Witch Trials

Open Document