Alva Review-Courier -

Back when the United States was a collection of British colonies, punishment for violators of the law was often harsh. But unless someone committed a terrible crime, punishment often did not mean time spent in jail.

If a criminal was, for example, a married man, his family would suffer if he was incarcerated. Moreover, it might fall to society to help take care of his dependents, which would make them a burden on everyone else.

The solution to this conundrum was to punish those guilty of minor violations of the law in some other way.

Thus, when the Puritans came from England to Massachusetts i...