Error
quote:
"'Most of those persons condemned for witchcraft within the jurisdiction of the Baron Courts of Prestoungrange and Dolphinstoun were convicted on the basis of spectral evidence -- that is to say, prosecuting witnesses declared that they felt the presence of evil sprits or heard spirit voices,"' the court said in its written findings.
I love that quote simply because there's been quite a few people on here that claimed they hear voices that only them can hear... you know who I'm talking about.
quote:
"Such spectral evidence is impossible to prove or to disprove; nor is it possible for the accused to cross-examine the spirit concerned. One is convicted upon the very making of such charges without any possibility of offering a defense."
Well, I just want to remind people that the burden of proof always falls on the side that claims the positive. In this case, the burden of proof should have been on the side that claimed those people were witches. Instead, someone made an accusation and low and behold those people had to "prove" that they weren't witches.
This reminds me of many arguments I've seen on here in the past. Our most recent examples came from BC where people made outrageous claims without any support then expected other people to disprove their claims.
quote:
The court declared an absolute pardon to all those convicted, "as well as to the cats concerned."
I just thought it was amazing that the cat species survived in Europe at all.
quote:
"It's too late to apologize but it's a sort of symbolic recognition that these people were put to death for hysterical ignorance and paranoia," said local historian Roy Pugh, who presented evidence to the court in support of the pardons.
Well, it only took the Vatican almost 400 years to admit that Galileo was right.
Error
quote:
The last execution for witchcraft in Scotland was in 1727. Such cases were outlawed by the Witchcraft Act of 1735, which made it a crime only to pretend to be a witch.
Does anyone else think this is hilarious?
He's not dead. He's electroencephalographically challenged.
The longest word in the English language is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.