The people that followed the Puritan religion wished for a perfect society,

filled with law abiding citizens.

In order to achieve this, they used many different forms of punishment against
those who were convicted of committing a crime, or straying from the Puritan
lifestyle.
Examples of Punishable Crimes
Some examples of punishable crimes include criticism of the church, not
attending church, adultery, gossiping, being idle, and theft.
How Punishments were categorized
The punishments that were handed to the convicted varied based on the
severity of the crime.
Minor Crimes
Minor offenses were often punished by monetary fines.
Other crimes, however, were punishable by shaming the convicted through
public humiliation.
The Scarlet Letter
One famous example of public humiliation is the Scarlet Letter. The people
that committed crimes such as adultery and being drunk had to wear a red letter on
their clothes. In some cases howeve, the letter was branded onto the skin.
These letters labeled the convicted, like "D" for Drunkard, "A" for Adulteress,
and "T" for Thief.
The Stocks and Pillories
Another form of public shaming was to place the accused into the pillories or
stocks. The person would be placed in the stocks with their head and wrists in them,
standing upright. Bystanders were permitted to throw food and garbage at the one in
the stocks, or mock them.
The Ducking Stool
Another unusual form of punishment was the "Ducking Stool".
The accused would sit strapped into the chair, attached to an operating arm,
and was submerged under water as many times as the judge said.
They would be dunked into the lake or river so people could gather and watch.
More Serious Crimes
Those crimes seen as especially serious were punished severely. Such crimes
include worshiping another God, practicing witchcraft, murder, or perjury.
Capital Punishment
For these serious crimes the capital punishment, that being death, was handed
down to the convicted.
Death By Hanging
The favored method of capital punishment was the hanging of the accused. The
most famous event in which people were hanged was during the Salem Witch Trials.
During the Salem Witch Trials, 19 people accused of practicing witchcraft
were hanged on Gallows Hill.