Types of Punishment during the Puritan
Time Period
Kayling Allen
Brittania Waterhouse
Ashby Gentry
Chloe Martin
Period 0
AP English 11
9/4/15
Execution
Most Common Types:
Hanging in front of crowds
Burning alive
Whipped to death
Whipping
Usually called for 20-40 lashes.
They are usually tied to a pole in
the middle of the town to allow
everyone to watch.
Public Humiliation
❖A person wore a letter to symbolize
they had committed a crime.
❖Ex.
➔“D” Public Drunkenness
➔“A” Adultery
➔“T” Theft
Dunking
❖The women who were dunked had
talked badly about their husband;
however, depending on how badly
they talked determined the number
of dunks they had.
Banishment
One of the most severe punishments
Forced citizen to leave the colony.
Usually given for Heresy.
Branding
Sometimes people would have symbols
branded into their skin rather
than being forced to wear them.
B for Burglary
The Pillory
Being placed in a wooden board with
holes cut out for the head and
hands.
Burning
❖ The people who were burned: witches,
“devil”, criminals, were lit on fire, but it
didn’t stop there. Not only were they lit,
they got their limbs torn and cut apart,
organs on fire, and tortured.
❖ http://library.eb.com.ezproxy1.azlibrary.g
ov:2048/levels/youngadults/article/27654
3
Previous Encounters with Law
Cut off tongues
Cropped ears
Slit nostrils
Forced to wear noose around neck
reminded the person that if they made
one more mistake they would be hanged
Work Cited
Cox, James A. "History.org: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's Official History and Citizenship Website." Colonial
Crimes and Punishments : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History & Citizenship Site. The Colonial
Williamsburg Foundation, n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.
\
Crime and Punishment in America Reference Library. "Colonial Period."Gale U.S History. History in Context, 2005. Web. 31 Aug.
2015.
"Puritan Capital Punishment." In Boston. Celebrate Boston, n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2015.