Testimony From Virginia Court Records: Katherine Watkins

“THE TRIAL OF ANNE HUTCHINSON” (1637) was written by John Winthrop. This document was conducted to ascertain whether Anna Hutchinson's religious views were consistent with those of the Massachusetts Bay Colony's Puritans. In terms of American religious freedom history, it was a turning point. This trial was notable because it was the first time in American history that a woman had ever been tried for her religious beliefs. Governor John Winthrip says to Mrs.Hutchinson, “the sentence of the court you hear is that you are banished from out of our jurisdiction as being a woman not fit for our society, and are to be imprisoned till the court shall send you away (Foner 76).”

In this essay, this transcript for the trial of Bridget Byshop will be examined, and the context of these proceedings will be explained.

MILLERSBURG — Two brothers serving a 14-month prison sentence were free men, for the most part, after Holmes County Common Pleas Judge Robert Rinfret granted both judicial release Wednesday. In December, Dennis Carl Bevington, 55, and Gary Lee Bevington, 62, both of 833 Depot St., pleaded guilty in Holmes County Common Pleas Court to failure to provide for a functionally impaired person. In exchange for their pleas, the more serious charges of involuntary manslaughter were dismissed. They could have faced 11 years in prison.

The evidence will show that the State's main witness, Jay Wilds, who was allegedly involved in the aiding of the victims murder, is an unreliable witness. Jay’s testimony has many inconsistencies and misleading information. During Jay’s interrogation with the police, he changes multiple parts of his story. The following are a few of the modifications the witness made, one Jay states to have refused to help in the digging of the victims grave but later reforms his story and states he did. Two, Jay told police Adnan informed him about his plan to murder Ms. Lee the day the murder occurred but later alters his story and says Adnan had frequently mentioned killing her.

This proceeding, reference number: t16781211e-23 on December 11, 1678 has two offenders named Nathaniel Russell and John Watson. These two men are being prosecuted for the killing of William Midgley. Both William and Midgley pleaded not guilty in the accounts of murder. They are accused of giving Midgley a “mortal wound on his breast” from which he died days later. There are three witnesses who include: Dorothy Midgley, sister to William Midgley, Elizabeth Symmonds, and Rebeccah Niccols.

The counterclaim will talk about how Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs narrative talk about how how women had it worse than men did. The reason why women had it worse was because of the sexual abuse. Men was physically and emotionally abused like women but the fact that women were also sexually abused made it worse than men. In Harriet's narrative she talks about how beauty was a curse "If God has bestowed beauty upon her, it will prove her greatest curse."

The book goes into detail about Elizabeth’s life and romantic relationship with Bundy, and covers her simultaneous feelings of guilt and relief about Bundy’s capture. Kendall provides many examples of her internal struggle, including her decision not to testify against Bundy when given the chance to. She found it very hard to cope with her feelings throughout the trial. Kendall notes that when asked to testify “[Kendall] couldn’t be a part of it. They saw Ted Bundy as a murderer.

Throughout the book, she provided unexpected evidence that the reader would not have known about. She supplied historical evidence to back up each claim, demonstrating how politicized the church was during the trials. Roach detailed the accused's connections to the accusers, as well as their relationships with those in positions of power throughout the trials. She also discusses how gender influenced how the trials played out because women were frequently the targets of allegations and faced unique challenges in defending their own

This makes the atmosphere of the courtroom more suspenseful as the main source of evidence, Abigail Williams, threatens to leave. Abigail abusively exerts her power, which Judge Danforth is partly responsible

The first time that Jeannette ever experiences a true violation from someone is when Billy Deel rapes her: ‘Guess what? Billy shouted. I raped you’”(Walls 87). Jeannette is too young at this time to understand what it means to be raped, but what she does understand is how horrific people can be. Jeannette is sexually assaulted several other time through the book, but she never lets these moments take ahold of her.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my name is Zainab. I'm the prosecutor of the Mary Maloney crime . On a mission to prove that Mary Maloney is guilty of murder. The crime takes place in Rocheport ,Missouli. January 2, 1954, in the house.

“She said that sexual assault was a crime of perception. “If you don’t think you’re hurt, then you aren’t (Walls 184).” Rosemary makes Jeannette feel like she is insignificant to her and doesn’t make the effort to stick up for her child. At this point, Jeannette must feel worthless to her mother, bringing her self-esteem to a low.

In court Mary Warren states that the girls were pretending to faint and seeing spirits. When Cheever brings the girls to the courtroom, they realize Mary is with John. Judge Danforth begins asking what they are coming to the court with, John answers, “This is Mary Warren's Deposition”. (Miller 102). The girls start to realize that Mary is turning against them and she is siding with John.

As each of the chapters started off with the events that were written in Martha’s diary, and then expanded into detail by the author. Another primary source that Ulrich uses is The Trial of Atticus to show why during times of rape in the Eighteenth century it was difficult for women to press charges. Ulrich used The Tale of Atticus and other maps and charts, because it was difficult to paint the history with just Martha Ballard’s

In Salem, Massachusetts a series of hearings and prosecutions started, commonly known as the Salem Witchcraft Trials. The witchcraft trials in Salem became a big concern after two-hundred innocent people were accused and twenty people were executed. Many people of Salem believed the court was just in accusing all these victims. A seldom amount of people went against the court in saying that the court was a fraud and that the decisions were biased being made. Abigail Williams held all the power in the court and determined who was “guilty” or not.