The Condemned.

The surviving court records from the New England area offer a glimpse of what crimes were being committed and punished during the colonial period. From 1630 to 1644 ninety-nine people were charged with drunkenness in Massachusetts, seventythree of whom received a fine. For the fifty charged with theft, the most common punishment was whipping. About half of the twenty-two charged with fornication were whipped, while nineteen of the twenty-two servants charged with running away were whipped. The twentyfour accused of cursing or swearing received a fine or whipping. There were only nine assaults, three attempted rapes, one rape, and one murder. Of the four people executed, one cause was unspecified, two were for adultery, and one was for murder.

Fines and Humiliation.

Crimes like drunkenness, fornication, and theft dominated most New England courts throughout the 1600s. Fines were common, but for more serious...