The Puritan New England judicial system was an unjust and unjust system, arising from the Massachusetts General Court. Many of the processes and procedures were ridiculous. General life in Puritan communities was centered around religion, and the justice system reflected this. Religion crept into laws and courts until they were virtually unified. The Puritans zealously valued their religion and it became part of daily life in the colony. Religion was an important part of the law, court, and state in Puritan New England. The Puritan Church was mixed with the State and often seemed almost as if they were united. Laws were a combination of state and religion (Yale 9). Referring to church and state, David Yale wrote, “The distinction is far from clear” (Yale 9). This was in contrast to the Puritan founders who originally wanted church and state to be separate, but able to work together (Yale 9). The Church had so much power in the state that it eventually organized the civil government (Yale 9). If a person rebelled against the government and criticized or challenged the Puritan rule, it would be considered a sin against God. Religion was also associated with interrogations in courts, and religion was part of the prosecution. An example of this is during John Hathorne's examination of Sarah Good. The exam begins with this text. “(Hathorne) Sarah Well, with what evil spirit are you familiar. (Sarah Good) None. (H) You have not had any contact with the devil. (SG) Well, I said no. (H) Why do you hurt these children. (SG) I don't hurt him. I despise it. (H) Who do you hire then to do it. (SG) No creature but me am falsely accused” (Linder umck.edu). This shows a characteristic of Hawthorne's prosecuting style in which he... mid-paper... important to the jury, who are still there to decide on innocence of guilt. Another very important fact is the ridiculousness and extremity of the trials. The book did a good job of showing this in the way the court worked and the outcomes of the trials. In the book, if anyone was guilty, they would be immediately put to death. This was also true in Puritan law, and death is an extremely common punishment for breaking the law. Also, the fact that a few little girls can change an entire town and take lives seems crazy, but Abigail and Betty played a major role in the Salem witch trials. Twenty people died in the trials as well as in the book and this fact further illustrates how crazy the court was. Puritan history is full of incredible trials and accusations that exemplify the Puritan court and Salem witch trials, as The Crucible does a good job of demonstrating this..