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Margaret Barclay (accused Witch)
Margaret Barclay (died 1618), was an accused witch put on trial in 1618, 'gently' tortured, confessed and was strangled and burned at the stake in Irvine, Scotland. Her case was written about with horror (''Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft'', 1830) by the romantic novelist Sir Walter Scott, and in the 21st century, a campaign for a memorial in the town and for a pardon for Barclay and other accused witches was raised in the Scottish Parliament. Family life Margaret Barclay was married to Alexander Dein, a burgess and merchant in the town or Irvine, Ayrshire. She was known to have a 'fiery temper' and poor relationships with her husband's family. She had a daughter, Isobel Insch, and said to have had a servant. Trial for witchcraft Margaret Barclay was accused of being the leader of a witches' coven by her sister-in-law and others, involved in cursing the Irvine ship ''The Gift of God'' and causing it to sink near Cornwall, killing all on board, including the owner an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irvine, Ayrshire
Irvine ( ; sco, Irvin, gd, Irbhinn, IPA: ˆiɾʲivɪɲ is an ancient settlement, in medieval times a , and now a on the coast of the in , < ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demonology Walter Scott
Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or pseudoscience. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may be nonhuman, separable souls, or discarnate spirits which have never inhabited a body. A sharp distinction is often drawn between these two classes, notably by the Melanesians, several African groups, and others. The Islamic jinn, for example, are not reducible to modified human souls. At the same time these classes are frequently conceived as producing identical results, e.g. diseases.van der Toorn, Becking, van der Horst (1999), ''Dictionary of Deities and Demons in The Bible'', Second Extensively Revised Edition, Entry: Demon, pp. 235-240, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Prevalence of demons According to some societies, all the affairs of the universe are supposed to be under the control of spirits, each ruling a certain " el ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witch Trials In Scotland
In early modern Scotland, inbetween the early 16th century and the mid-18th century, judicial proceedings concerned with the crimes of witchcraft ( gd, buidseachd) took place as part of a series of witch trials in Early Modern Europe. In the late middle age there were a handful of prosecutions for harm done through witchcraft, but the passing of the Witchcraft Act 1563 made witchcraft, or consulting with witches, capital crimes. The first major issue of trials under the new act were the North Berwick witch trials, beginning in 1590, in which King James VI played a major part as "victim" and investigator. He became interested in witchcraft and published a defence of witch-hunting in the ''Daemonologie'' in 1597, but he appears to have become increasingly sceptical and eventually took steps to limit prosecutions. An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 people, mostly from the Scottish Lowlands, were tried for witchcraft in this period, a much higher rate than for neighbouring England. There w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen regnant, queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or advocate) who is typically a senior trial lawyer. Technically appointed by the monarch of the country to be one of 'His [Her] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law', the position originated in England and Wales. Some Commonwealth countries have either abolished the position, or renamed it so as to remove monarchical connotations, for example, 'Senior counsel' or 'Senior Advocate'. Appointment as King's Counsel is an office, conferred by the Crown, that is recognised by courts. Members have the privilege of sitting within the inner Bar (law), bar of court. As members wear silk gowns of a particular design (see court dress), appointment as King's Counsel is known informally as ''rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claire Mitchell
Claire Mitchell is a Kings Counsel working in Scotland. She has a particular interest in constitutional, human rights and sentencing questions. Career She has an honours degree in law from University of Glasgow and became a QC (now KC) in 2019 and was called at the Bar in 2003. Before that she was a solicitor in private practice since 1996. Mitchell was President of the Scottish Criminal Bar Association from 2016 to 2018. Views Mitchell hopes that laws used to dispense historic pardons can be used in these cases, as they have been done for the people in Salem, Massachusetts. She supports the use of new technology to ensure business continuity for law courts in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic She said “Covid has forced us all well past where we thought we would be in 2021. We are now seeing the benefits of investing in technology. Measures which increase efficiency save money which can then be reinvested in measures which increase efficiency – it’s a virtuous circle. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the jurisdiction. Pardons can be granted in many countries when individuals are deemed to have demonstrated that they have "paid their debt to society", or are otherwise considered to be deserving of them. In some jurisdictions of some nations, accepting a pardon may ''implicitly'' constitute an admission of guilt; the offer is refused in some cases. Cases of wrongful conviction are in recent times more often dealt with by appeal rather than by pardon; however, a pardon is sometimes offered when innocence is undisputed in order to avoid the costs that are associated with a retrial. Clemency plays a critical role when capital punishment exists in a jurisdiction. Pardons are sometimes seen as a mechanism for combating corruption, allowing a part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miscarriage Of Justice
A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal procedure, criminal or civil procedure, civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they actual innocence, did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Innocent people have sometimes ended up in prison for years before their conviction has eventually been overturned. They may be exonerated if new evidence comes to light or it is determined that the police or prosecutor committed some kind of misconduct at the original trial. In some jurisdictions this leads to the payment of compensation. Academic studies have found that the main factors contributing to miscarriages of justice are: eyewitness identification, eyewitness misidentification; faulty forensic analysis; false confessions by vulnerable suspects; perjury and lies stated by witnesses; police misconduct, misconduct by police, prosecutorial misconduct, prosecutors or judicial miscondu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witches Of Scotland
Witches of Scotland is a campaign for legal pardons and historic justice for the people, primarily women, convicted of witchcraft and executed in Scotland between 1563 and 1736. It aims to obtain a pardon, an apology, and a national memorial for the convicted from the Scottish parliament. Led by Claire Mitchell QC and writer Zoe Venditozzi, the campaign was launched on International Women's Day in 2020, and gained significant media coverage in 2021. The podcasts published by the campaign include contributions from Carolyn Jess Cooke, Sara Sheridan, Julia Campanelli, Julian Goodare and Alice Tarbuck. Historical background In Scotland the Witchcraft Act remained in law till 1736. Witchcraft was a capital crime and punished by strangulation and burning at the stake. Claire Mitchell QC provides evidence that Scotland executed five times as many people per capita as anywhere else in Europe. An estimated 3837 people were accused, 2558 of whom were killed. 84% of the convicted were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witch Trials In Early Modern Scotland
In early modern Scotland, inbetween the early 16th century and the mid-18th century, judicial proceedings concerned with the crimes of witchcraft ( gd, buidseachd) took place as part of a series of witch trials in Early Modern Europe. In the late middle age there were a handful of prosecutions for harm done through witchcraft, but the passing of the Witchcraft Act 1563 made witchcraft, or consulting with witches, capital crimes. The first major issue of trials under the new act were the North Berwick witch trials, beginning in 1590, in which King James VI played a major part as "victim" and investigator. He became interested in witchcraft and published a defence of witch-hunting in the ''Daemonologie'' in 1597, but he appears to have become increasingly sceptical and eventually took steps to limit prosecutions. An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 people, mostly from the Scottish Lowlands, were tried for witchcraft in this period, a much higher rate than for neighbouring England. There w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, PÃ rlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyrood. The Parliament is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), elected for five-year terms under the additional member system: 73 MSPs represent individual geographical constituencies elected by the plurality (first-past-the-post) system, while a further 56 are returned as list members from eight additional member regions. Each region elects seven party-list MSPs. Each region elects 15 to 17 MSPs in total. The most recent general election to the Parliament was held on 6 May 2021, with the Scottish National Party winning a plurality. The original Parliament of Scotland was the national legislature of the independent Kingdom of Scotland and existed from the early 13th centur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruth Maguire
Ruth Bernadette Maguire is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Cunninghame South since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. Maguire was elected as a councillor for North Ayrshire Council in 2012, in the Irvine West ward. She resigned as a councillor following her election to parliament. She was re-elected in 2021. Shortly before the 2021 election, Maguire was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer. After taking medical leave and successful treatment, she returned to Holyrood in December 2021. Her father John Finnie was an MSP for the Highlands and Islands region from 2011 to 2021. In April 2019, claiming it could change what it means to be male and female, Maguire was one of 15 SNP politicians who signed a public letter calling on the Scottish Government to delay reform to the Gender Recognition Act The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows people ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stocks
Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing its use is cited by the orator Lysias: "“He shall have his foot confined in the stocks for five days, if the court shall make such addition to the sentence.†The “stocks†there mentioned, Theomnestus, are what we now call “confinement in the woodâ€" (''Lys''. 10.16) Form and applications The stocks, pillory, and pranger each consist of large wooden boards with hinges; however, the stocks are distinguished by their restraint of the feet. The stocks consist of placing boards around the ankles and wrists, whereas with the pillory, the boards are fixed to a pole and placed around the arms and neck, forcing the punished to stand. Victims may be insulted, kicked, tickled, spat on, or subjected to other inhumane acts. In the Bible, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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