The Response of the Authorities to the Witchcraze

What was the first step of the inquisitorial process?

Once an accusation was made, judges and their subordinates investigated the crime and decided whether the defendant was guilty

How did the judges decide if a defendant was guilty?

By interrogating the accused and all available witnesses

How was guilt established for a capital crime?

The testimony of at least two eyewitnesses or the confession of the accused was required

Why were judges dependent on confessions for witchcraft cases?

The only people who could give accounts of sabbat attendance were alleged accomplices and it was difficult to find two eyewitnesses to maleficia

What were the rules regarding torture?

- The victim should not die from torture

- Certain people (eg. pregnant women and children) were exempt

- Judges should establish that a crime had been committed before allowing the use of torture

- Testimony taken in the torture chamber was not admissible as evidence - the prisoner was required to repeat the evidence freely

When were torture rules relaxed and why?

Witchcraft was seen as an exceptional crime after 1484

What power did judges abuse?

Judges could torture suspects for crimes that were believed to have been committed but for which there was no tangible evidence

How were the beliefs from witchcraft treatises confirmed?

By confessions made under torture

How high was the conviction rate when torture was used in prosecution?

95%

How high was the conviction rate when torture was not use in prosecution, eg. in England?

40%

How were chain-reaction witch hunts caused?

By further denouncements being made under torture

When did European secular courts become involved in witch hunting?

From 1560

Why did secular authorities have an interest in witchcraft?

It was believed that it could result in physical injury or be used for political purposes

How did specific laws or prohibitions against witchcraft backfire?

It publicised the crime and facilitated its prosecution

When did Church courts begin to get weaker and become subordinate to secular courts?

By the late 16th century - only the courts of the Inquisition in the South remained strong

How did the Southern Inquisition keep prosecutions to a minimum?

They were sceptical of witchcraft - papal inquisitors were among the first to recognise that violations against the procedural rules governing the use of torture had resulted in many miscarriages of justice

Where was sleep deprivation used instead of torture?

In England eg. Elizabeth Clarke in Manningtree was deprived of sleep until she confessed and named her familiars

What did the Carolina code state as the punishment for malevolent witchcraft?

It stated that it should be punished by fire

Which countries used burning as punishment for witchcraft?

Germany, Italy, Scotland, France and Scandinavia

What is an example of burning being used to punish witchcraft?

In Bamberg in 1628, Johannes Junius was beheaded and then burned after he was tortured into confession of witchcraft