Torture Techniques Throughout every historical period, people in society have been driven by panic and hysteria to use their belief in God as a reason to accuse, torture, and kill countless people innocent. The events of this cycle of inhumanity explain some of the darkest stains in human history. All forms of torture and punishment served as the primary means of forcing innocent accused individuals to confess their involvement in the alleged events and reveal the names of 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 performed by the church. After being accused of being a heretic, the church deemed that individual's body and soul corrupt, dirty, and possessed by the devil. For this reason the accused would have to undergo a harsh purification of body and soul. The body was washed with fire, boiling water and rags made of hard material. 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, embers, coals and soap. This ritual evolved into today's concept of washing one's mouth with soap.1 Severe public humiliation was another method of extracting confessions from accused individuals. The most common and recognizable form of public humiliation was escorting or pillorying. With his head and hands secured in stocks, the accused was paraded in front of the entire village to joke, insult and throw objects at him. Many...... middle of paper...... http://www2.cybercities.com/s/shanmonster/witch/ (February 28, 1999) - Michael Norton, "Townsfolk Kill Five People of Witchcraft", Associated Press, January 23, 1996. Bibliography - Dispelling Witches. Directed by Marnie Villari, 50 min. A&E Networks, 1993. Videocassette.- Malbrough, Ray. Spells and charm formulas. St. Paul, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications, 1996. - Norton, Michael. “Citizens 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 (3 March 1999).