Dorothy Talbye trial
Encyclopedia
The Dorothy Talbye Trial (1638) is an early American
example of a trial of an insane
woman at a time when the insane were treated no differently than ordinary criminals. Talbye was hanged in 1639 for killing her three year old daughter because, as she claimed, God
told her to do so.
Although Puritan
Governor John Winthrop
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
saw Talbye as possessed by Satan
, the penalty for murder
was necessarily death.
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
who became increasingly melancholic
, with fits of violence
. Governor John Winthrop
ascribed the woman's despondency to delusion
s or "trouble of mind", stemming from "falling at difference with her husband, through melancholy or spiritual delusions [ ...so that] she sometimes attempted to kill him, and her children, and herself, by refusing meat, saying it was so revealed to her..." through revelation
s he believes were from Satan. He described how church members tried to intervene.
However, Talbye did not listen to admonishments by the church elders
and was cast out of the church. She failed to appear before the Quarterly Court for assault
ing her husband as ordered in April of 1637. Therefore she was ordered to be bound
and chained to a post
until her behavior changed. In July of 1637 she was publicly whipped
for infractions against her husband. Although she seemed to improve for a while, she again fell into a state of despair
.
In November of 1638, she killed her daughter, Difficult, by breaking her neck, an act to which she freely confessed later and was charged with murder
.
At her trial Talbye was uncooperative, refusing to speak until John Winthrop threatened to pile stones on her chest, at which point she pled guilty. She refused to repent at her trial or at her execution, and, remaining uncooperative, she actively fought her execution. She removed the cloth covering her head and put it under the noose
to lessen the pain and even as she was swinging from the noose, she attempted to grab at a ladder to save herself.
, the basis of which was essentially biblical. The Bible
was clear that the punishment
for murder was death
. Massachusetts law followed Exodus, Leviticus
and Numbers
, which offered no other alternative. Any person killing another in "anger or cruelty of passion" shall be put to death
. Massachusetts's common law made no distinction between insanity and criminal behavior. The only punishment legally available for Dorothy Talbye was the death penalty.
In 1641, the Massachusetts Body of Liberties
was written as a first step at developing a body of law for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It codified the following, giving some allowance for special situations, although it may not have helped Dorothy Talbye: "Children, Idiots, Distracted persons, and all that are strangers, or new comers to our plantation, shall have such allowances and dispensations in any cause whether Criminal or other as religion and reason require."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
example of a trial of an insane
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
woman at a time when the insane were treated no differently than ordinary criminals. Talbye was hanged in 1639 for killing her three year old daughter because, as she claimed, God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
told her to do so.
Although Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
Governor John Winthrop
John Winthrop
John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
saw Talbye as possessed by Satan
Demonic possession
Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...
, the penalty for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
was necessarily death.
Circumstances
Dorothy Talbye was a respectable member of the church in SalemSalem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
who became increasingly melancholic
Psychotic depression
Psychotic major depression is a type of depression that can include symptoms and treatments that are different from those of non-psychotic major depressive disorder . PMD is estimated to affect about 0.4% of the population .PMD is sometimes "mistaken" for NPMD, schizoaffective disorder,...
, with fits of violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
. Governor John Winthrop
John Winthrop
John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...
ascribed the woman's despondency to delusion
Delusion
A delusion is a false belief held with absolute conviction despite superior evidence. Unlike hallucinations, delusions are always pathological...
s or "trouble of mind", stemming from "falling at difference with her husband, through melancholy or spiritual delusions [ ...so that] she sometimes attempted to kill him, and her children, and herself, by refusing meat, saying it was so revealed to her..." through revelation
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
s he believes were from Satan. He described how church members tried to intervene.
However, Talbye did not listen to admonishments by the church elders
Elder (Christianity)
An elder in Christianity is a person valued for his wisdom who accordingly holds a particular position of responsibility in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions an elder is a clergy person who usually serves a local church or churches and who has been ordained to a ministry of Word,...
and was cast out of the church. She failed to appear before the Quarterly Court for assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
ing her husband as ordered in April of 1637. Therefore she was ordered to be bound
Physical restraint
Physical restraint refers to the practice of rendering people harmless, helpless or keeping them in captivity by means such as handcuffs, fetters, straitjackets, ropes, straps, or other forms of physical restraint...
and chained to a post
Stocks
Stocks are devices used in the medieval and colonial American times as a form of physical punishment involving public humiliation. The stocks partially immobilized its victims and they were often exposed in a public place such as the site of a market to the scorn of those who passed by...
until her behavior changed. In July of 1637 she was publicly whipped
Flagellation
Flagellation or flogging is the act of methodically beating or whipping the human body. Specialised implements for it include rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails and the sjambok...
for infractions against her husband. Although she seemed to improve for a while, she again fell into a state of despair
Psychotic depression
Psychotic major depression is a type of depression that can include symptoms and treatments that are different from those of non-psychotic major depressive disorder . PMD is estimated to affect about 0.4% of the population .PMD is sometimes "mistaken" for NPMD, schizoaffective disorder,...
.
In November of 1638, she killed her daughter, Difficult, by breaking her neck, an act to which she freely confessed later and was charged with murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
At her trial Talbye was uncooperative, refusing to speak until John Winthrop threatened to pile stones on her chest, at which point she pled guilty. She refused to repent at her trial or at her execution, and, remaining uncooperative, she actively fought her execution. She removed the cloth covering her head and put it under the noose
Noose
A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot slides to make the loop collapsible. Knots used for making nooses include the running bowline, the tarbuck knot, and the slip knot.-Use in hanging:...
to lessen the pain and even as she was swinging from the noose, she attempted to grab at a ladder to save herself.
Significance
In 1637, American colonial law regarding murder followed English common lawCommon law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
, the basis of which was essentially biblical. The Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
was clear that the punishment
Punishment
Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....
for murder was death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
. Massachusetts law followed Exodus, Leviticus
Leviticus
The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....
and Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
, which offered no other alternative. Any person killing another in "anger or cruelty of passion" shall be put to death
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. Massachusetts's common law made no distinction between insanity and criminal behavior. The only punishment legally available for Dorothy Talbye was the death penalty.
In 1641, the Massachusetts Body of Liberties
Massachusetts Body of Liberties
The Massachusetts Body of Liberties was the first legal code established by European colonists in New England. Compiled by the Puritan minister Nathaniel Ward, the laws were established by the Massachusetts General Court in 1641...
was written as a first step at developing a body of law for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It codified the following, giving some allowance for special situations, although it may not have helped Dorothy Talbye: "Children, Idiots, Distracted persons, and all that are strangers, or new comers to our plantation, shall have such allowances and dispensations in any cause whether Criminal or other as religion and reason require."