Torture TechniquesIn every period of history, people in society have been driven by panic and hysteria to use their faith in God as a reason to accuse, torture and murder people. countless innocent people. The events of this cycle of inhumanity are responsible for some of the darkest stains in human history. All forms of torture and punishment have been the primary means of forcing innocent defendants to confess their involvement in the alleged events and to reveal the names of their accomplices. Throughout history, various forms of spiritual rituals, public humiliation, and pain induction have been used to extract these false confessions from innocent individuals. Accused heretics could be punished through spiritual purification rituals practiced by the Church. After being accused of being a heretic, the Church considered this individual's body and soul to be corrupt, filthy and possessed by the devil. For this reason, the accused would have to undergo harsh purification of body and soul. The body would be washed with fire, boiling water, and rags made from hard materials. To purify the individual's soul, he or she would be forced to swallow substances intended to eliminate evil spirits. The Church achieved this by forcing the accused to swallow boiling water, brands, coals and soaps. This ritual evolved into today's concept of washing the mouth with soap.1 Severe public humiliation was another method of extracting confessions from the accused. The most common and recognizable form of public humiliation was the vine or pillory. With his head and hands fixed in the vines, the accused was exposed to the whole village so that they could joke, insult him and throw objects at him. Many... middle of paper...... http://www2.cybercities.com/s/shanmonster/witch/ (February 28, 1999) - Michael Norton, "Townspeople kill five with witchcraft", Associated Press , January 23, 1996. Bibliography – Dispelling Witches. Directed by Marnie Villari, 50 min. A&E Networks, 1993. Video cassette.- Malbrough, Ray. Spells and charm formulas. St. Paul, Minnesota: LlewellynPublications, 1996.-Norton, Michael. “Townspeople kill five with witchcraft,” Associated Press, January 23, 1996.- Powell, Shantell. "Punishment, Torture, and Ordeal", The Witching Hours, October 25, 1998. http://www2.cybercities.com/s/shanmonster/witch/witches/grandier.html/ (February 28, 1999).- Instruments of torture and death penalty from the Middle Ages to the industrial era, http://www.cecut.org.mx/GALERIA/tortura/torture.htm (March 3 1999).