FACT OR FICTION?
TORTURING ‘WITCHES’ WAS LEGAL IN ENGLAND
Contrary to popular belief, torturing an accused witch until he or she ‘confessed’ to their supposed crimes was actually illegal during English witch trials. But on the continent, it was a very different story, says Owen Davies, professor of history at the University of Hertfordshire.
“Torture is one of the key reasons that so many people were prosecuted – and executed – for witchcraft in the early modern period,” comments Davies. “When torture was deployed during interrogations, the accused would invariably implicate several other people. They, in turn, would be brought in, tortured and interrogated, and would incriminate yet more people, and so it went on.
“There’s a notorious case that took place in the now German town of Ellwangen between 1611–18, where
