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Before long the local jails were overflowing with witches identified by other so-called witches who had "confessed", and trials had to be held in order to free up space in jail.  Keep in mind that Puritans were running these trials, and they allowed  "spectral evidence" as a basis for convicting someone.  "Spectral evidence" is testimony by a victim that she had been visited by an image ("specter") of the accused, thereby suggesting the guilt of the accused.  This type of unreliable evidence is not allowed today.  Another flaw in the Puritans' legal system included a lack of a defense attorney for the accused, the allowance of "touching tests" as evidence, and the case did not have to be proven "beyond reasonable doubt," as it must be today.

Before long the local jails were overflowing with witches identified by other so-called witches who had "confessed", and trials had to be held in order to free up space in jail.  Keep in mind that Puritans were running these trials, and they allowed  "spectral evidence" as a basis for convicting someone.  "Spectral evidence" is testimony by a victim that she had been visited by an image ("specter") of the accused, thereby suggesting the guilt of the accused.  This type of unreliable evidence is not allowed today.  Another flaw in the Puritans' legal system included a lack of a defense attorney for the accused, the allowance of "touching tests" as evidence, and the case did not have to be proven "beyond reasonable doubt," as it must be today.

City authorities prosecuted the suspects (mostly older women but also some men), and nearly two dozen were convicted and executed for the crime of witchcraft (nearly all of them women, but at least one man too).  Some thought that the trials offered an unique opportunity to identify and expose the devil, for the advancement of knowledge.  But others observed that killing all these people may itself the work of the devil.  Finally one of the accused witches identified the wife of the governor as being a witch.  That alarmed the governor himself, obviously, and he intervened to order the exclusion of spectral evidence and touching tests as evidence against the accused, and that proof be based on a higher standard of "clear and convincing evidence."  Under these better legal standards, nearly everyone was acquitted (found "not guilty") and the governor pardoned the few who were still convicted.  Tituba herself, who sparked the panic, later recanted her "confession" but remained in jail another year until someone paid the jailer money to release her and her husband.  (Notice that while a few Puritans did own slaves in early times, they did not split slave families.)  Many associated with the trials later apologized, but not the Chief Judge William Stoughton.  He always insisted that he was about to "clear the land" of witches and that the governor should not have intervened to prevent this; Stoughton subsequently became governor himself of the Massachusetts colony, showing the popularity of his position.

City authorities prosecuted the suspects of witchcraft (mostly older women but also some men), and about 20 people (including several men) and even two dogs executed.  Some thought that the trials offered an unique opportunity to identify and expose the devil, for the advancement of knowledge.  Cotton Mather, a prominent colonist, published a book bragging about the success of the trials.

But others observed that killing all these people may itself the work of the devil.  Finally one of the accused witches identified the wife of the governor as being a witch.  That alarmed the governor himself, obviously, and he intervened to order the exclusion of spectral evidence and touching tests as evidence against the accused, and that proof be based on a higher standard of "clear and convincing evidence."  Under these better legal standards, nearly everyone was acquitted (found "not guilty") and the governor pardoned the few who were still convicted.  Tituba herself, who sparked the panic, later recanted her "confession" but remained in jail another year until someone paid the jailer money to release her and her husband.  (Notice that while a few Puritans did own slaves in early times, they did not split slave families.)  Many associated with the trials later apologized, but not the Chief Judge William Stoughton.  He always insisted that he was about to "clear the land" of witches and that the governor should not have intervened to prevent this; Stoughton subsequently became governor himself of the Massachusetts colony, showing the popularity of his position.

This entire episode is taught today to embarrass the [[Puritan]]s and religious authority in general.  In 1850 a classic in American literature, ''The Scarlet Letter'', described life in Puritan Boston in the 1600s and criticized its strict adherence to morality and the occasional scandals that resulted.  Yet when Puritanical morality was eventually abandoned centuries later, Boston and Massachusetts became the most liberal areas in the nation, and in 2004 Massachusetts was the first state to allow same-sex marriage.  Morally, Massachusetts is now directly opposite of what it was in the 1600s.

This entire episode is taught today to embarrass the [[Puritan]]s and religious authority in general.  In 1850 a classic in American literature, ''The Scarlet Letter'', described life in Puritan Boston in the 1600s and criticized its strict adherence to morality and the occasional scandals that resulted.  Yet when Puritanical morality was eventually abandoned centuries later, Boston and Massachusetts became the most liberal areas in the nation, and in 2004 Massachusetts was the first state to allow same-sex marriage.  Morally, Massachusetts is now directly opposite of what it was in the 1600s, but its style today is orthodox in a liberal way.

Historians continue to debate what the real motivation for the Salem Witch trials was.  There is much evidence that money, not religion, was the driving force.  Nearly all of the accusers were from poorer farms, while nearly all of the accused were from the newer, richer, commercial class (such as a tavern owner mentioned earlier).

Historians continue to debate what the real motivation for the Salem Witch trials was.  There is much evidence that money, not religion, was the driving force.  Nearly all of the accusers were from poorer farms, while nearly all of the accused were from the newer, richer, commercial class (such as a tavern owner mentioned earlier).