Punishment and Torture in 17th Century Massachusetts

The Pillory The pillory could be a most uncomfortable instrument. The criminal's neck was placed in a stretched position in a hole between two pieces of hinged wood (in extreme cases, the offender's ears might be nailed to the pillory frame). Two smaller openings trapped the miscreant's hands, preventing him or her from warding off the rotten eggs or other foodstuffs thrown by onlookers (Salem News Online 8/16/2004).

The Stocks Those sentenced to spend an hour in the stocks sat upright with legs extended forward. The ankles were locked into small openings like those on the pillory. This punishment exacted a toll on the lower back which was unsupported. Adding to the sitter's discomfort was the shame of being an identified sinner or convicted criminal (Salem News Online 8-16-2004)

Whippings Whipping, fines and short stays in very uncomfortable jails were the most common punishments in Puritan Massachusetts. Whipping was always painful and, in extreme cases, could be fatal. Normally the offender was lashed at a post in the town square, but those viewed as real threats to the Puritan order could be sentenced to be whipped at the "cart's tail." These offenders would be tied to the rear of a cart and transported from place to place. At each stop they would receive a handful of lashes with a knotted cord. Some of the Quaker missionaries who descended on local communities in the late 1650s were sentenced to be tied at cart's tail and whipped at each town between Salem and Boston. By the time the poor unfortunates reached their final destination, their flesh hung in strips on their blackened and bloodied backs

Brandings Quaker missionaries and sympathizers were among those sentenced to have "H" for heretic branded on their cheeks. Some would have had ears lopped off, an amazingly frequent occurrence in Puritan Massachusetts, or holes bored through (with a hot iron pole) their heretical tongues. Eventually the more persistent of their number would be sentenced to leave Massachusetts or to be executed by hanging. Branding was reserved for heresy and other serious, usually violent, crimes. A gentler form of this punishment was the wearing of an embroidered or printed letter, such as an "A" for adultery or "I" for incest, on the sinner's clothing for an extended period of time.

The Wooden Horse In 1661, a Salem soldier was sentenced to ride the "wooden horse" for some unknown dereliction of his military duty. This little known and very painful instrument of legalized Puritan torture, usually reserved for military use, featured a inverted wooden "v" mounted on a frame. The soldier was forced to straddle the sharpened edge of the "v" with heavy weights attached to his feet.