RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Salem Witchcraft and Lessons for Contemporary Forensic Psychiatry
JF Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
JO J Am Acad Psychiatry Law
FD American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
SP 294
OP 299
VO 41
IS 2
A1 Friedman, Susan Hatters
A1 Howie, Andrew
YR 2013
UL http://jaapl.org/content/41/2/294.abstract
AB In 1692 and 1693, in Salem, Massachusetts, more than 150 colonists were accused of witchcraft, resulting in 19 being hanged and one man being crushed to death. Contributions to these events included: historical, religious and cultural belief systems; social and community concerns; economic, gender, and political factors; and local family grievances. Child witnessing, certainty of physician diagnosis, use of special evidence in the absence of scholarly and legal scrutiny, and tautological reasoning were important factors, as well. For forensic psychiatry, the events at Salem in 1692 still hold contemporary implications. These events of three centuries ago call to mind more recent daycare sexual abuse scandals.