The Punishment Imposed On Perpetrators - 1228 Words

â€Å"One word can aptly describe the punishment imposed on perpetrators in the first half of that century — cruel† (Curland). Crime and punishment in the 1800s was very severe and often was amusing to the public. Some techniques of punishment included branding, whipping, and ear nailing. The English-American colonies used a patriarchal method to their punishment. The men, typically civil officers, or religious leaders, made the laws. The less fortunate, including children, servants, slaves, soldiers, farmers, and tradesmen had to obey the harsh rules put in place. On Sundays, Virginian ministers had to read the Articles, Lawes and Orders. Failure to go to church two times each day would result in the loss of a day’s worth of food. The second†¦show more content†¦Branding was considered a way of humiliation for people because it would be placed on their hand, forehead, or cheek with a letter indicating the type of crime committed. It was also very painfu l. For example, if you had been caught attempting burglary, you would be branded on the right hand with a capital B, and on the left hand for a second offense. You would also have to wear a device around your neck to designate the crime. Ear nailing sounds like an unusual punishment that wouldn’t be very effective. However, it was one of the worst punishments due to the nature of it. Subjects were subjected to the pillory in consequence of treason, sedition, arson, blasphemy, witchcraft, perjury, wife beating, cheating, forgery, coin clipping, dice cogging, slandering, conjuring, fortune-telling, and drunkenness, and many other offenses. A pillory consisted of wooden boards that had holes for the person s hands and head. Their ears were then nailed down to the wooden board to stabilize the head. Their head was facing the crowd, so they could not hide it in shame. They were then beaten, while standing during the entire duration of the punishment, and often things were thrown at them during the process. Thus, the pillory was a dreaded consequence, due to the embarrassing scene it created. Another form of punishment was whipping. Most village squares had a whipping post, and bigger cities had them at various spot s in the