The Examination of Sarah Good Salem Court Documents

The Examination of Sarah Good Salem Court Documents, 1692

Focus Lesson § Transcript § Bias § Loaded questions

Transcript § A written record of information communicated orally such as a: § Speech § Interview § Legal testimony

Bias § A prejudice or mental leaning toward or against some topic, issue or person. § Writers reveal their biases by using word connotations § Interrogators can reveal their biases by asking loaded questions § Questions that make unwarranted presumptions or that force a certain answer. Do you think the government should be allowed to steal your money to fund useless programs? Vs. Do you think your taxes should be raised to fund government programs?

Sarah Good

The Accusations of Witchery Confess to witchcraft= confirmed witch Deny witchcraft= confirmed witch Confess to witchcraft and accuse someone else of bewitching you= confirmed witch but showing signs of breaking Satan’s hold

Sarah Good § Sarah was accused by a group of adolescent girls of bewitching them to suffer symptoms of convulsive fits, hallucinations, loss of appetite, and temporary loss of hearing. § This is the court record from Sarah’s hearing on March 1, 1692. § Good was then jailed, tried in court, found guilty and hanged on July 19 th.

The Outcome § After 19 men and women were found guilty and hanged for witchcraft, Puritan leaders began to doubt the accusers and their evidence. § Over the next 20 years, most of the falsely accused were pardoned and awarded financial compensation.