The Case Of Anne Whittle

Anne Whittle was the first of the Pendle witches tried, she had confessed to being a witch in all of her examinations and blamed Elizabeth Sowtherns for introducing her to witchcraft, but plead not guilty to the crimes of using witchcraft to harm others. After examination of Anne Whittle, the Justices of the Peace examined those that were accused with her about the actions of Anne Whittle in relation to acts of witchcraft. Notably, James, Alizon, and Elizabeth Deuice all testified against Anne Whittle accusing her of multiple witchcrafts. Anne Whittle was found guilty of using witchcraft to harm people, and sentenced to death. Anne Whittle’s case was not the only one of the cases from Pendle Forest that resulted in execution. Executed along with Anne Whittle were, James Deuice, Alizon Deuice, Elizabeth Deuice, Anne Readfearne, Alice Nutter, Katherine Hewytte, John Bulcock, Jane Bulcock, and Isabel Robey. Of the eleven cases from Pendle Forest that went to trial, ten people were executed, Margaret Pearson was deemed guilty by the jury but not executed. Instead of execution, Margaret Pearson was forced to stand on a pillar in the market for four market

This is seen through the examination of the Witchcraft Acts, which allowed for sentencing other than death for the guilty, and the six-step court process, with its heavy reliance on evidence and testimony. These factors allowed for the English legal system to prevent the death of many people, by giving options other than death and by requiring enough evidence that the Justices of the Peace would feel that the accused will be convicted without a doubt. Comparing the 1,000 executions of English people convicted of witchcraft in a secular court to the 26,000-people executed in Germany and the 10,000 in France, the English legal system clearly had a role in reducing the number of deaths for the crime of