Spectral Evidence: State Vs. Dustin Court Case

Spectral evidence, as defined by the State vs. Dustin court case,refers to “a witness testimony that the accused person's spirit or spectral shape appeared to him/her witness in a dream at the time the accused person's physical body was at another location”. The legal definition of the general term evidence is “information given personally, drawn from a document, or in the form of material objects, tending or used to establish facts in a legal investigation or admissible as testimony in court”. Spectral evidence only fits the primary section of this definition, as it can only be obtained from personal testimony, one of the most unreliable forms of court evidence; it is also only visible to the individual testifying and can be easily acted out as if the courtroom was a playhouse.Spectral evidence was first introduced and admitted
into the courtroom during the infamous Salem Witch Trials, when fear enhanced its effectiveness and its elimination forced reasoning to ultimately overcome. During the trials, spectral evidence was commonly used because the mass hysteria that consumed the village was based on the supernatural.
Little material evidence was available in regards to casting demons, spells, and spirits to throw teen girls into fits or seizures so the next best option was evidence based on the unseen. One witness and accuser claimed to see the Devil whispering in the ear of one of the alleged witches, Martha Carrier. No other witness saw this, but the accuser’s testimony was used as evidence to convict Carrier of witchcraft and therefore sentence her to death by hanging. Few members of Salem village sought to use logic to deny spectral evidence because of the fear that it could be true. Puritans were fearful of God’s wrath and the power of the Devil, which led to fear of any less-than-holy supernatural activity. Fear overcame rationale, which was why the court officials were so easily swayed to believe the testimony and spectral evidence provided by the accuser. The cycle of fear, spectral evidence, and sentencing led to twenty deaths total. However, in October of 1692, the governor of Massachusetts broke the
cycle. That October, the governor had had enough of citizens of good standing being accused of witchcraft. When his own wife was accused, he expressed his dismay for the overuse and reliance on spectral evidence by ruling it out of the proceedings completely. This action made it virtually impossible to accuse and confirm any additional cases of witchcraft. The trials concluded that fall; if the governor had not taken action, the trials could have continued until every citizen had been jailed or hanged. Court officials were forced to use logic and face the fact that fear had overcome law degrees and thorough investigations. The officials came to the conclusions that the previous convictions had been based on very loose evidence, so the jailed victims were all acquitted by the following spring. The Salem Witch Trials are a prime example of why multiple forms of solid evidence are needed and a conviction cannot be based on emotion.