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In Elizabethan England, crime was relatively more common than it is today. This is due to the fact that there were many things that were considered illegal that are perfectly legal today. However, some crimes, such as thievery and murder are still today considered "terrible violation[s] of the law."  (Elizabethan Museum)

One example of an Elizabethan crime that is no longer illegal is begging and unemployment. Being employed meant that you either managed other people, or someone else was managing you. Independent, self-employed workers such as merchants and wandering tinsmiths were often sentenced to a whipping or "some other form of physical torture." (Elizabethan Museum) The Elizabethan judicial system would not be considered very just by modern standards, so being merely accused of being a witch would likely get a person hanged or burned at a stake. In contrast with today's freedom of religion in place in many countries around the world, in Elizabethan England it was a crime to not believe in the Church, known as heresy. This was often punished by death.

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a punishable crime in Elizabethan England.

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During the Elizabethan England time period, punishments for crimes were extremely harsh. Even for minor crimes, punishments could be as light as carting, in which a criminal would ride around town in a cart, and as heavy as whipping. Many offences were also punished by the pillory, where "the criminal stood with his head and his hands through holes in a wooden plank... as the crowd gathered round to throw things at the wretched criminal" (shown in the photo on the right) (Picard).

Serious punishments were used to establish dominance, as Queen Elizabeth was a ruthless, but smart ruler. Crimes punishable by public hanging included "buggery, stealing hawks, highway robbery and letting out of ponds, as well as treason." (Picard) But first, prisoners were brutally tortured using devices named "The Rack..., The Pit... The Little Ease..., The Scavenger's Daughter", each device used to break, twist and smash the prisoner's bones. Other methods of punishment include slavery, burning, and drawing and quartering.

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The Pillory

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Picard, Liza. British Library. Dangoor Education, March 16, 2016, https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/crime-and-punishment-in-elizabethan-england. Accessed 4/24/2019

“Crime and Punishment” Elizabethan Museum. 2013 http://elizabethanmuseum.weebly.com/crime-and-punishment.html.
Accessed 4/24/2019