Modern Day Witch Trials

Modern-Day Witch Trial The McMartin Preschool Abuse Trial was anything but quick and simple. The case lasted a total of seven years, and cost the government $15 million dollars (Source F). Peggy McMartin Bukey and her son Raymond along with a few other teachers were accused of a crime that would change their lives forever. The charges consisted of everything from animal sacrifice to pornography and satanic rituals. (Source D). It first began with Judy Johnson, mother of one of the preschool’s young children who claimed the teachers had molested her son; however, her mental illness (schizophrenia) was withheld from the defense in court for three years. She caused a chain reaction that eventually led to 321 counts of child abuse involving 48 children (Source F).
Children are susceptible to peer pressure. They are impelled to say things that are not true just to please certain people, or to stop brutal interrogations. In both cases people were urged to “believe in the children.” They were heedless of the fact that there was no strong evidence to back up any of the stories, which also varied (Source C). Parents in the McMartin Trial were encouraged to sit their kids down and have them questioned for two hours. These types of allegations destroy careers and change (innocent) lives forever. A member of the jury told reporters: “The interview tapes were too biased; too leading.” (Source E)
In both cases people were creating their own accusations with their own twisted thoughts. They turned what could have been innocent interpretations into the most horrid ideas. The phrase “cold as a witch’s teat,” originated from the Salem Witch Trial. It was said that if a mole was pricked with a needle, and the person failed to bleed then they were a witch. Likewise, one kid in the McMartin Trial did not like tuna; people rapidly shot to the conclusion that this was because he had been exposed to vaginal smells (Source C). Did it ever occur to these people that maybe the child