community, which is why witchcraft is an important problem during this time. As Godbeer later explains, and Katherine a heavy blow to public “Elizabeth Seager’s Harrison’s survival dealt trust in the legal system and its willingness to This lack of protect settlers from witches.” “trust” in the government made keeping the peace a difficult task. However, one man is able to contain order. Godbeer presents his data about the trial through the viewpoint of the judge, William Jones. Jones runs the court in a fair and lawful system. He first researches other government’s witch trials and composes structure for his future witch trial. Godbeer is impressed by Jones’ of requirements: one for arresting and examining someone suspected philosophy of, “…two sets of witchcraft, the other for convicting and hanging an After these regulations are indicted witch.” in place, then Jones begins to create criteria for guilty and not-guilty verdicts. He creates grounds for which the accused had to qualify for in order to be detained or questioned in court. These standards make the prosecutors present some sort of evidence or reasonable cause. This is another example of the thought process that William Jones had in order to prevent a disaster like Salem. Due to the fact that this case investigates witchcraft, there is no hard evidence to support any claims of someone practicing witchcraft. With this dilemma placed before the magistrates, the jury is forced to make its decision based on the witness accounts of what happened. These accounts, especially dealing with witchcraft, are difficult to find the truth. After Mercy Disborough is found guilty of witchcraft and Goody Clawson is found not guilty, Stamford stands in amazement. With the hearings in Salem, the belief that anyone accused of witchcraft would be found guilty is on the minds of the people of Stamford. The lack of evidence bothered Jones and even made him question his jury about their decisions. Though Jones does not believe that the verdict is correct, he does believe that the verdict was fair. Jones did not show favoritism
community, which is why witchcraft is an important problem during this time. As Godbeer later explains, “Elizabeth Seager’s and Katherine Harrison’s survival dealt a heavy blow to public trust in the legal system and its willingness to protect settlers from witches.” This lack of “trust” in the government made keeping the peace a difficult task. However, one man is able to contain order. Godbeer presents his data about the trial through the viewpoint of the judge, William Jones. Jones runs the government’s court in a fair and lawful system. He first researches other witch trials and composes structure for his future witch trial. Godbeer is impressed by Jones’ philosophy of, “…two sets of requirements: one for arresting and examining someone suspected of witchcraft, the other for convicting and hanging an indicted witch.” After these regulations are in place, then Jones begins to create criteria for guilty and not-guilty verdicts. He creates grounds for which the accused had to qualify for in order to be detained or questioned in court. These standards make the prosecutors present some sort of evidence or reasonable cause. This is another example of the thought process that William Jones had in order to prevent a disaster like Salem. Due to the fact that this case investigates witchcraft, there is no hard evidence to support any claims of someone practicing witchcraft. With this dilemma placed before the magistrates, the jury is forced to make its decision based on the witness accounts of what happened. These accounts, especially dealing with witchcraft, are difficult to find the truth. After Mercy Disborough is found guilty of witchcraft and Goody Clawson is found not guilty, Stamford stands in amazement. With the hearings in Salem, the belief that anyone accused of witchcraft would be found guilty is on the minds of the people of Stamford. The lack of evidence bothered Jones and even made him question his jury about their decisions. Though Jones does not believe that the verdict is correct, he does believe that the verdict was fair. Jones did not show favoritism