Today in Salem: The sounds of galloping hooves and her own strangled breathing are all John Willard’s wife can hear as she races from Salem to Boston. Six months ago John was a deputy, an esteemed man who was trusted by the authorities, if not the public. Now he’s in jail, though, convicted of witchcraft, and will be hanged.
She’d convinced the court to consider his former reputation and release him for a day or two so he could see his children before his execution. But the jail keeper in Salem says he never received authorization from Boston, and she means to find out why. John will be hanged in two days, and there’s no time to spare.
LEARN MORE: Why were prisoners allowed to leave jail? Why didn’t more of them escape?
These days, a guilty sentence might include a number of years in prison, where being locked up is a punishment in itself. In colonial times, though, jail was not a punishment. It was a detention center, where prisoners waited for their actual punishment; for example, whipping, fines, or death.
If a prisoner could convince the authorities that detention wasn’t necessary, they could leave jail for a few hours, as long as they promised to return for the night. Occasionally they were released for days or even weeks. These prisoners were almost always rich or well-connected men who were seen as trustworthy.
Even with the privilege of leaving jail, actual escape was difficult. There were no getaway cars or flights to another country. Horses and hiding were the only options, both of which were easy for authorities to discover. Successful escapees usually depended on a chain of friends and family to hide them in several places as they traveled to other colonies. It required connections and money, which most prisoners didn’t have.