He was also forced to pay his former master for loss of work time. He was, upon paying the fines, being sent to a prison in Boston until his master could "dispose of himaE. However, Spencer decided to flee. He was caught and detained, and as punishment, branded with the letter "BaE on his forehead. The point of relaying this story is to show you how society viewed criminals such as him. This man was treated this way, not only because of the crime he committed, but also because he was a black slave, and therefore viewed
In my opinion, in the earliest of colonial America, society's punishments were based solely on the benefits of the superior members of society. I believe this is true, because in most cases, the perpetrator would be punished by fines. As stated earlier, Spencer was fined 5 pounds for breaking and entering, and also for escaping from jail. It was written under Colonial Law that fighting with, or assaulting someone up in public, (with the exception of masters beating their servants) was punishable anywhere from 10 shillings to 5 pounds, depending on severity.
Laws such as this have obviously changed throughout time. Fighting in public for e