Ashanti Callender 7A2ID2

  Some crimes committed in colonial America still exist today.  Many crimes thought of as serious during the Colonial Era, would not be thought of as serious today.  Public drunkenness and hog theft were considered major crimes.  Another major crime was going against the government. In Colonial America, that meant going against the King. Crime in Colonial America

 Colonial Courts  The Colonial court system was informal and simple, but still followed the court systems in England.  The law was a set of rules made to help with colonial life.  There was usually one judge who heard all of the concerns of the colonists.  The court was involved with making decisions about social and economic life.

  Fines  Physical Punishment  Pillory  Stocks  Whipping Post  Ducking Stool Types of Punishment

  Courts awarded fines for many civil crimes.  Fines were a way of avoiding crueler punishments.  If convicted stealing a hog colonists were fined ten pounds. Fines in Courts

  Physical punishments were often used, for felonies and for the poor, who could not afford to pay fines.  A person convicted of hog stealing was lashed twenty- five times on a whipping post.  In addition to the ten pound fine, there was a fine of four-hundred pounds of tobacco to be shared by the owner and the informant. Physical Punishments

 Pillory  The pillory was used to publicly humiliate a person who committed a crime.  The public threw items like fruits and vegetables at the criminal for harmless crimes.  For more serious infractions, items such as rocks and other hard items were thrown at the criminal.  This punishment lasted from a few hours to several days.

 Stocks  The stocks were wooden frames with holes for the criminals’ feet.  Stocks were primarily used to hold criminals while awaiting trial.  At other times, the public would throw items at them like in the pillory, but the criminals could defend themselves with their hands.

 Whipping Post  Whipping was one of the most common punishments handed out by the courts.  The wealthy got out of this punishment by paying a fine, but the poor were usually whipped.  The whipping post has shackles on the sides of the post.  The criminal was strapped to the post and was whipped.

 Ducking Stool  This form of punishment was used for minor crimes.  The criminal was strapped into a chair and dunked into water.

  During colonial times, a person’s status or social class was the main factor in determining the harshness of their punishment.  The two major classes during this time period were the higher class and the servant class.  The people in the higher class sometimes received a less harsh punishment for the same crime than a person in the servant class. Social Status

  Colonial law and government differed from the law and government we have today.  Our government is more complex and formal.  The punishments we have today does not include publicly punishing the criminal.  Some of the punishments in Colonial times would be considered cruel and unusual today. Conclusion

  Blomberg, T.G., Lucken, K. (2010). American penology: a history of control. Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ.  court/html/colonial.html References