Editing Inquisition (section)

== Inquisition Proceedings ==

=== Denunciations ===
The usual procedure began with the visitation by the inquisitors in a chosen location. The so-called heretics were then asked to be present and denounce themselves and others;  it was not enough to denounce himself as a heretic.{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|pp=46–47}}{{sfnp|Kirsch|2008|p=8}}

Many confessed alleged heresies for fear that a friend or neighbor might do so later.  The terror of the Inquisition provoked chain reactions and denunciations{{sfnp|Burman|2004|p=143}} even of spouses, children and friends.{{sfnp|Kirsch|2008|p=14}}

If they confessed within a "grace period" — usually 30 days — they could be accepted back into the church without punishment.  In general, the benefits proposed by the "edicts of grace" to those who presented themselves spontaneously were the forgiveness of the death penalty or life imprisonment and the forgiveness of the penalty of confiscation of property.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bethencourt|first=Francisco|title=La Inquisition en la Epoca Moderna – España, Portugal e Italia Siglos XV-XIX|publisher=Akal Ediciones|year=1997|pages=202–204|language=es}}</ref>

Anyone suspected of knowing about another's heresy and who did not make the obligatory denunciation would be excommunicated and then subject to prosecution as a "promoter of heresy."{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=47}} If the denouncer named other potential heretics, they would also be summoned. All types of complaints were accepted by the Inquisition, regardless of the reputation or position of the complainant. Rumors, mere suppositions, and even anonymous letters were accepted, "if the case were of such a nature that such action seemed appropriate to the service of God and the good of the Faith".{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=45}} It was foreseen that prison guards themselves could report and be witnesses against the accused.{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|pp=47–48}}

This strategy transformed everyone into an Inquisition agent, reminding them that a simple word or deed could bring them before the tribunal. Denunciation was elevated to the status of a superior religious duty, filling the nation with spies and making every individual suspicious of his neighbor, family members, and any strangers he might met.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lea|first=Henry Charles|title=A History of the Inquisition of Spain|publisher=The MacMillan Company|year=1906|volume=2|page=91}}</ref>

=== Methods of torture used ===
The primary method of torture was psychological: solitary confinement and indefinite incarceration.

The real prevalence of torture is ignored. Some defend that victims were interrogated under physical torture only in extreme cases. The view of historian Ron E. Hassner is that  'inquisitors knew that information obtained through torture often was not reliable. [So] They built their cases patiently, gathering information from a variety of sources, using a variety of methods. With any given subject, they used torture only intermittently, in sessions sometimes months apart. Their main goal was not to compel a confession or a profession of faith, but to extract factual information that would confirm or corroborate information already in hand.'<ref name="hassner">{{cite web |last1=Lempinen |first1=Edward |date=20 July 2022 |title=The tortures of the Spanish Inquisition hold dark lessons for our time |url=https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/07/20/the-tortures-of-the-spanish-inquisition-hold-dark-lessons-for-our-time/ |website=Berkeley News |language=en}}</ref>

The summary of the ''Directorium Inquisitorum'', by [[Nicholas Eymerich|Nicolás Aymerich]], made by Marchena, notes a comment by the Aragonese inquisitor: ''Quaestiones sunt fallaces et inefficaces'' ("The interrogations are misleading and useless").{{Sfnp|Eymerich|1821|p=40}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Eymerich|first=Nicholas|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_YFZHoAk8v2QC|title=Directorium Inquisitorum|publisher=In aedibus Populi Romani apud Georgium Ferrarium|year=1587|page=481|language=la}}</ref> In spite of this, Eymerich strongly recommends the use of torture and describes in detail the rules to be followed in order to recommend its use, which he considers very praiseworthy.{{sfnp|Eymerich|1821|pp=37-41}}

Defendants were punished if found guilty, with their property being confiscated to cover legal and prison costs and to maintain the heavy machinery of persecution. The victims could also repent of their accusation and receive reconciliation with the Church. The execution of the tortures was attended by the inquisitor, the doctor, the secretary and the torturer, applying them on the nearly naked prisoner. In the year 1252, the bull ''[[Ad extirpanda]]'' allowed torture, but always with a doctor involved to avoid endangering life, and limited its use to non-bloody methods that did not break bones:<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sanz|first=Javier|date=2019-09-16|title=Todo lo que te creíste de la Inquisición y no era verdad. Procedimientos y torturas (2/3)|url=https://historiasdelahistoria.com/2019/09/16/todo-lo-que-te-creiste-de-la-inquisicion-y-no-era-verdad-procedimientos-y-torturas-2-3|access-date=|website=Historias de la Historia|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Innocentius IV|title=1243–1254 – SS Innocentius IV – Bulla 'Ad_Extirpanda' [AD 1252-05-15]|url=https://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01p/1252-05-15,_SS_Innocentius_IV,_Bulla_'Ad_Extirpanda',_EN.pdf|access-date=2024-04-15|website=Documenta Catholica Omnia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Carroll|first=James|title=Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Books|year=2002|pages=356–357}}</ref>{{multiple image
| perrow            = 3
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| total_width       = 220
| image_gap         = 4
| background color  = azure
| image1            = Theresiana-Hochziehen.jpg
| caption1          = Strappado
| image2            = Museo de la Tortura Toledo 18.jpg
| caption2          = Rack, or potro
| image3            = Water cure.jpg
| caption3          = Water cure
}}

* [[Strappado]]: the victim was lifted to the ceiling with his arms tied behind his back, and then dropped violently, but without touching the ground. This usually meant the dislocation of the victim's arms.<ref name="TP">{{Cite book|last1=Donnelly|first1=Mark P.|title=The big book of Pain: Torture & punishment through History|last2=Diehl|first2=Daniel|publisher=The History Press|year=2011|chapter=Torture by stretching and suspension}}</ref><ref name="SI">{{Cite book|last=Pérez|first=Joseph|title=The Spanish Inquisition: a history|publisher=Profile Books|year=2004|pages=147–148|translator-last=Lloyd|translator-first=Janet}}</ref>
* [[Rack (torture)|Rack]] or ''potro'': the prisoner was tied to a frame and the executioner pressed, but stopping before or if the meat was pierced or blood flowed. In another version, the victim was stretched on a sort of table, usually with serious impact in later life.<ref name="SI" /><ref name="TP" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Innes|first=Brian|title=History of torture|publisher=Amber Books|year=2016|pages=69–71}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Currie|first=Stephen|title=Medieval punishment and torture|publisher=Reference Point Press|year=2015|pages=57–58}}</ref> Many inquisitors believed the rack was not allowed.<ref name=hakelly/> 
* [[Water cure (torture)|Water cure]], now known as [[Waterboarding|water boarding]]: the prisoner was tied, a cloth was inserted through his mouth down to his throat, and one liter jugs of water were poured in to his mouth. The victim had the sensation of drowning, and the stomach swelled until near bursting.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fernández Carrasco|date=2018|first=Eulogio|pages=48–52|publisher=Editorial Sanz y Torres|title=La Inquisición: Procesos y autos de fe en el Antiguo Régimen|isbn=9788416466603|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NV9ODwAAQBAJ}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Hassner|first=Ron Eduard|title=Anatomy of torture|publisher=Cornell University Press.|year=2022|pages=12–13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Donnelly|first1=Mark P.|title=The big book of Pain: Torture & punishment through History|last2=Diehl|first2=Daniel|publisher=The History Press|year=2011|chapter=Torture by water}}</ref>

According to Catholic apologists, the method of torture (which was socially accepted in the context of the time) was adopted only in exceptional cases, and the inquisitorial procedure was meticulously regulated in interrogation practices.<ref name="IM">{{Cite web|last=Tracy|first=Matthew|title=Busting the Inquisitorial Myths|url=https://www.ru.nl/theology/society/imagining-the-inquisition/inquisition-history/busting-inquisitorial-myths/|access-date=2023-06-22|website=Special Faculty of Theology}}</ref>

* Torture could not endanger the subject's life.<ref name="IM" /> 
** However, at times torture was allowed when guilt was "half proven" or even not proven, or there existed a "presumption of guilt", or confession was considered incomplete, as stated in Article XV of Torquemada's ''instruciones'' and in Eymerich's directions or Portuguese ''Regimentos.''{{sfnp|Sabatini|1930|pp=162, 197, 198}}{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|pp=48, 53}}
* Torture could not cause the subject to lose a limb.<ref name="IM" /> 
** However, at time the defendant was informed that if he died, broke any limbs or lose consciousness during torment, it would be his fault, and not theirs, the inquisitors, because with "such impudence" he put himself in danger of life and health.{{sfnp|Baião|1924|p=179}}{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=54}}
* Torture could only be applied once, and only if the subject appeared to be lying.<ref name="IM" /> 
** However, in practice torture was repeated or "continued".{{sfnp|Murphy|2013|p=89}}{{sfnp|Hill|2019|p=122}}{{sfnp|Eymerich|1821|pp=40-41}}{{sfnp|Lea|1887a|p=427}}{{sfnp|Kamen|1999|p=188}} The Portuguese instructions (''Regimentos'') stipulate that defendants may not appear at ''autos de fé'' showing marks of torture, so did not recommend using torture other than ''potro'' in the previous fortnight.{{sfnp|Eymerich|1821|p=41}}{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=54}}

It is clear that after the proceedings the tortured were left in a sorry state.  Some  perished as a result.{{sfnp|Kamen|1999|pp=190-191}}Despite the loss of thousands of documents over the years, many of the meticulous records of torture sessions have survived.{{sfnp|Murphy|2013|p=89}}

==== Fake instruments of torture ====
Despite what is popularly believed, the cases in which torture was used during the inquisitorial processes were rare, since it was considered (according to some authors) to be [[Interrogational torture|ineffective in obtaining evidence]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-12-04|title=El mito de la Inquisición española: menos del 4% acababan en la hoguera|url=https://www.abc.es/historia/abci-falsa-leyenda-negra-inquisicion-espanola-solo-18-por-ciento-quemado-hoguera-201512040335_noticia.html|access-date=2023-06-22|website=Diario ABC|language=es}}</ref><ref name="IM" /> Before torture, some inquisitors may have displayed  the  instruments mainly on the purpose of intimidation of the accused, so  he  could understand what to expect. If he wished to avoid punishment, he should only  confess his faults.{{sfnp|Kirsch|2008|p=112}}{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=53}}{{sfnp|Murphy|2013|p=89}}

In the words of historian [[Helen Mary Carrel]]: "the common view of the medieval justice system as cruel and based on torture and execution is often unfair and inaccurate."<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2006-08-03|title=Medieval Justice Not So Medieval|url=https://www.livescience.com/927-medieval-justice-medieval.html|access-date=2024-05-04|website=Live Science|language=}}</ref> As the historian Nigel Townson wrote: "The sinister torture chambers equipped with cogwheels, bone crushing contraptions, shackles, and other terrifying mechanisms only existed in the imagination of their detractors."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-05-19|title=El Mito de la Inquisición Española: el famoso documental de la BBC de 1994|url=https://bibliaytradicion.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/el-mito-de-la-inquisicion-espanola-el-famoso-documental-de-la-bbc/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Biblia y Tradición|language=es}}</ref>

In fact, it seems likely that the inquisitors favoured simpler and "cleaner" methods, which left few apparent marks. Aymerich points out that canon law does not prescribe either this or that particular torture, so judges can use whatever they see fit, as long as it's not an unusual torture. Many types of torments have been chosen, but Eymerich think they seem more like the inventions of executioners than the works of theologians. "It is true that it is a very praiseworthy practice to subject the accused to torture, but no less reprehensible are those bloodthirsty judges who base their vain glory on the invention of crude and exquisite torments" – he adds.{{sfnp|Eymerich|1821|p=43}} Also, [[Rafael Sabatini]] notes that the available records do not show these uncommon inventions. It seems that the inquisitors  must have been satisfied with the  devices already in use, or a limited number of the most efficient.{{sfnp|Sabatini|1930|pp=202-203}}

[[File:Diverse torture instruments.jpg|thumb|Probably falsified instruments of torture of the inquisition, of which there is no evidence of their use in inquisitorial processes. The most blatant case is the Iron Maiden; there are no records of its use.]]
Many torture instruments were designed by late 18th and early 19th century pranksters, entertainers, and con artists who wanted to profit from people's morbid interest in the [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Age myth]] by charging them to witness such instruments in [[Victorian era|Victorian-era]] circuses.<ref name="Sin_nombre-1_53s-1">{{Cite web|last=McDaniel|first=Spencer|date=2019-11-12|title=Why Most So-Called "Medieval Torture Devices" Are Fake|url=https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2019/11/11/why-most-so-called-medieval-torture-devices-are-fake/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Tales of Times Forgotten}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Marks|first=Anna|date=2016-06-18|title=Victorian Con Men Faked the Middle Ages' Darkest Devices|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-middle-ages-darkest-tech-was-invented-by-victorian-con-men/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Vice}}</ref>

However, several torture instruments are accurately described in ''[[Foxe's Book of Martyrs]]'', including but not limited to the dry pan.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Foxe|first=John|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22400/22400-h/22400-h.htm|title=Fox's Book of Martyrs}}</ref>

Some of the instruments that "the Inquisition" never used, but that are erroneously registered in various inquisition museums:<ref>{{Cite web|last=Medievalists.net|date=2016-03-20|title=Why Medieval Torture Devices are Not Medieval|url=https://www.medievalists.net/2016/03/why-medieval-torture-devices-are-not-medieval/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Medievalists.net}}</ref>

* The troublemaker's flute:<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Flute of Shame: Discover the Instrument/Device Used to Publicly Humiliate Bad Musicians During the Medieval Period|url=https://www.openculture.com/2020/01/the-flute-of-shame-discover-the-instrument-device-used-to-publicly-humiliate-bad-musicians-during-the-medieval-period.html|access-date=2024-05-06|website=Open Culture|language=}}</ref> Created in the 17th century. Its first mention comes from the years 1680–90 of the [[Republic of Venice]] used against deserters from the [[Ottoman–Venetian wars|war between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice]].{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
* [[Head crusher]]: Created in the 14th century. Its first mention comes from 1340 in [[Germany]]. It was not used by the Inquisition but by the German courts against the enemies of some [[prince-elector]]s.
* Judas's cradle: Created in the fifteenth century. Its first mention comes from 1450 to 1480 in France. Used by the ''[[parlement]]'' and not by the Inquisition, it was abolished in 1430.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
* The [[Wooden horse (device)|Spanish donkey]]: Created in the 16th century. The name connects the instrument to the [[Spanish Inquisition]], although it was only used in certain regions, which were not primarily Spain nor as part of the Inquisition, but by [[Central Europe]]an civil authorities (most notably [[Protestantism in Germany|Reformed Germany]] and the [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown|Bohemian Crown]]), [[New France]], the [[Netherlands Antilles]], the [[British Empire]], and the [[United States]]. It is unclear exactly who invented this device, and it is likely that it was ascribed to Spain as [[Spanish Black Legend|"Black Legend" propaganda]].
* The Spanish tickle: Created in 2005 as a false rumor on Wikipedia.<ref name="Sin_nombre-1_53s-1" />
* The [[Thumbscrew (torture)|Thumbscrew]]: Created in the 16th century.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-06-16|title=7 Famous Torture Devices, Real and Mythical|url=https://www.history.com/news/7-famous-torture-devices-medieval-iron|access-date=2024-05-12|website=HISTORY}}</ref> It was used for the persecution of Catholics by [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley|William Cecil]] in [[England]] during the reign of [[Elizabeth I]]. It was not used by the Inquisition, but by the English courts against dissidents to the [[Protestant reformation|Protestant Reformation]],{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} later also for the torture of [[Slavery|slaves]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Equiano|first=Olaudah|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15399|title=The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African|year=1789}}</ref>
* [[Death by sawing|The saw]]: Created in the fifteenth century. Its first mention comes from 1450 to 1470. Used by the Hungarian court against Muslims in the context of the war between the [[Ottoman Empire]], the [[Byzantine Empire]] and the [[Kingdom of Hungary]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-06-30|title=Medieval Torture Devices and Methods That Date Back to the Ancient World|url=https://explorethearchive.com/9-torture-methods-of-the-ancient-world|access-date=2024-05-13|website=explorethearchive.com}}</ref>
* [[Pear of anguish]]: Created in the fifteenth century. Its first mention comes from 1450. Used by the French ''parlement'' and not by the Inquisition, it was abolished in 1430.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-04-06|title=HISTORIAS PARA MENTES CURIOSAS: "Juguetes decimonónicos": la pera oral o vaginal.|url=https://revisioneshistoricasopusincertum.blogspot.com/2020/04/juguetes-decimononicos-la-pera-oral-o.html|access-date=2023-06-23|website=HISTORIAS PARA MENTES CURIOSAS}}</ref> The historian [[Chris Bishop (historian)|Chris Bishop]] came to postulate that it could have actually been a sock stretcher, since it has been proven that it was too weak to open into a body orifice.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Things People Believe About Historical Torture That Are Just Not True|url=https://www.ranker.com/list/myths-about-historical-torture-that-arent-true/genevieve-carlton|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Ranker}}</ref>
* The [[Boot (torture)|Spanish Boot]]: Created in the 14th century. Its first mentions come from [[Scotland]] with the buskin. Used by the authorities in England to persecute Catholics in [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]]. Later the civil authorities of [[Kingdom of France|France]] and Venice would use it, but not by the Spanish Inquisition.
* The "Cloak of Infamy". Created in the 17th century. It was first mentioned by [[Johann Philipp Siebenkees]] in 1790, and was used by the [[Nuremberg parliament]] (Protestant) against thieves and prostitutes.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
* The [[Iron maiden|Iron Maiden]]. The use of iron maidens in judicial proceedings or executions is doubted.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kerrigan|first=Michael|title=The instruments of Torture|publisher=Lyons Press|year=2001|pages=142–143}}</ref> Several replicas of the Iron Maiden existed, and the one of Nuremberg Castle  was destroyed in 1944 as a result of bombing during  World War II. It was probably based on the 17th century Cloak of Infamy.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Madrid|first=Darío|date=2020-08-30|title=La "Doncella de Hierro" no fue empleada como método de tortura por la Inquisición España. Nunca existió.|url=http://dariomadrid.com/la-doncella-de-hierro-no-fue-empleada-como-metodo-de-tortura-por-la-inquisicion-espana-nunca-existio/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Darío Madrid Historia y Fotografía|language=es}}</ref>
* The [[Breast ripper]]. Created at the end of the 16th century. The first reference dates back to [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]] (Germany) in 1599 and presumably it would have been used in France and [[Holy Roman Empire]] by civil authorities and not by the Inquisition. However, there are no reliable first-hand historical sources on the use of the devices, so, like the Iron Maiden, there is a possibility that the devices shown in the images are fakes of a later manufacture (such as from the 17th century) or assembled from small fragments that may have been parts of another device. Most likely, it was often mentioned to frighten and force the accused to confess, rather than such dubiously existent torture being inflicted on them.<ref>{{Cite web|title='Breast Ripper' Torture Device, Probably German, 17th/18th C|url=https://www.antiqueweaponstore.com/product/breast-ripper-torture-device-probably-german-17th-18th-c/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Antique Weapon Store}}</ref>
* The [[Stocks]]. Created in the Middle Ages and used by the civil authorities of [[London]], not the Inquisition, in order to publicly shame criminals, but not physically harm them or take life.
* The [[Brazen bull|bronze bull]]. Created in the [[Ancient history|Ancient Age]] and never used in medieval Europe, much less in the Inquisition. In fact, there is a chance that it never existed at all and was just a popular legend of Greco-Latin culture.
* The [[Scold's bridle]]. Created in the 16th century. It was never legalized and was only used unofficially by some civilians in Scotland and England, not by the Inquisition.
* The [[Rat torture|dungeon of rats]]. Created in the 16th century, its main reference is from [[John Lothrop Motley]] about some anecdotes of torture against the "papists" during the [[Eighty Years' War|Dutch war of independence]]. It is also said that Catholics who resisted the [[Church of England]] under [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] were tortured in the [[Tower of London]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Craik|first1=George Lillie|url=http://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor03macfgoog|title=The pictorial history of England, being a history of the people, as well as a history of the kingdom ..|last2=McFarlane|first2=Charles|date=1846|publisher=New York, Harper & brothers|others=New York Public Library}}</ref> Used by some Protestant governments and not by the Inquisition.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Motley|first=John Lothrop|title=The Rise of the Dutch Republic — Complete (1555–84)|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4836/pg4836-images.html.utf8|access-date=2023-06-23|website=gutenberg.org}}</ref>
* Heretic's Fork, [[Boot (torture)|Boots]], Cat's Paw, and Iron Cage. Created in the 15th–16th century. Used by the French ''parlement'' and not by the Inquisition.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

=== Trials ===
{{disputed|date=October 2024}}
The Inquisition's trials were secret{{sfnp|Balk |2008|p=386}} and there was no possibility of appealing the decisions.{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=46}}{{dubious|date=October 2024}} The defendant was constantly pressured to confess to the "crimes" assigned to him. The Inquisitors kept the accusations made and the evidence they possessed hidden, in order to achieve a confession without announcing the accusation.{{sfnp|Kamen|1999|p=193-194}}{{sfnp|Saraiva |2001|pp=43–48}}{{dubious|date=October 2024}} The main goal was to make the defendant confess. When a lawyer was assigned to him, he was an employee of the Inquisition and worked for it, not in the defense of the accused.{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|pp=43–48}}

Each court had its own staff (lawyers, prosecutors, notaries, etc.) and its own prison. The guards who served the inquisition spied the accused in their cells; if they refused to eat, for example, this action could be considered a fast, a Jewish custom.{{sfnp|Saraiva |2001|pp=43–48,63, 174}}

In many cases, it was common for false accusations to be made against New Christians and it was difficult to prove their innocence. It was therefore more convenient for many to make a false confession to the inquisitors, including a list of imaginary accomplices, in the hope that they would not receive extreme penalties, such as the death penalty, but only the confiscation of property or lesser penalties.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rowland|first=Robert|date=2010|title=Cristãos-novos, marranos e judeus no espelho da Inquisição|journal=Topoi|language=pt|volume=11|issue=20|pages=172–188|doi=10.1590/2237-101X011020012|issn=1518-3319|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In fact, there wasn't a trial in the modern sense of the term, but an extensive interrogation;{{dubious|date=October 2024}} the prisoner was kept in the dark about the reasons for his arrest — often for months or even years. There was no precise accusation and therefore little chance of a plausible defence. The prisoner was simply advised "to search his conscience, confess the truth, and trust to the mercy of the tribunal'".{{sfnp|Burman|2004|p=151}}

Eventually, the prisoner was informed of the charges against him — but omitting the names of the witnesses.{{sfnp|Kamen|1999|pp=194-195}} So, the guessing game continued.{{sfnp|Burman|2004|p=151}}{{dubious|date=October 2024}} After the interminable interrogations, hearings and waiting periods came to an end, the sentence could be pronounced.

The Inquisition trials had little to do with justice. [[Walter Ullmann]], a historian, summarises his evaluation: "There is hardly one item in the whole Inquisitorial procedure that could be squared with the demands of justice; on the contrary, every one of its items is the denial of justice or a hideous caricature of it [...] its principles are the very denial of the demands made by the most primitive concepts of natural justice [...] This kind of proceeding has no longer any semblance to a judicial trial but is rather its systematic and methodical perversion."{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|pp=61–62}}

In one of his books, Portuguese author [[António José Saraiva|A. José Saraiva]] points out the analogy of the trials with the absurdity of the Kafka's novel [[The Trial]] or the [[show trial]]s of Stalin's era in Moscow.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Saraiva|first=António José|title=Inquisição e Cristãos-Novos|publisher=Editorial Inova|year=1969|edition=4th|pages=11, 142–144|language=pt}}</ref>

=== Punishments ===
The Inquisition's sentences could be simple penances, for example  private devotions, or heavy punishments. One of the Inquisition's punishments was the forced wearing of distinctive clothing or signs  such as the [[Sanbenito|sambenito]], sometimes for an entire life.{{sfnp|Kirsch|2008|p=85}}

Other punishments were exile, compulsory [[pilgrimage]]s, fines, the [[galley]]s, life imprisonment (in fact prison for some years) and in addition the confiscation of goods and property.{{sfnp|Peters|1989|p=66-67}}<ref name="MH">{{Cite book|last=Deane|first=Jennifer K.|title=A History of Medieval Heresy and Inquisition|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2011|pages=113–114}}</ref> The bull [[Ad extirpanda|Ad Extirpanda]] determined that the houses of heretics should be completely razed to the ground.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Innocentius IV|date=15 May 1252|title=1243–1254 – SS Innocentius IV – Bulla 'Ad_Extirpanda' [AD 1252-05-15]|url=https://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01p/1252-05-15,_SS_Innocentius_IV,_Bulla_'Ad_Extirpanda',_EN.pdf|website=Documenta Catholica Omnia}}</ref> Furthermore, the impact of the Inquisition's activity on the fabric of society was not limited to these penances or punishments. As under the terror of the Inquisition entire families denounced each other,  they were soon reduced to misery,  completed  by the confiscation of property, public humiliation and [[ostracism]].{{Sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=104-105}}<ref name="MH"/>

Even dead people could be accused, and sentenced up to forty years after the death. When inquisitors considered proven that the deceased were heretics in their lifetime, their corpses were exhumed and burned, their property confiscated and the heirs disinherited.{{sfnp|Sabatini|1930|p=169-172, 222, 277–279, 432}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Homza|first=Lu Ann|title=The Spanish Inquisition, 1478–1614 An Anthology of Sources|publisher=Hackett Publishing|year=2006|page=XIV}}</ref>